D Gray Man: Series 5
by History101
Summary: A.U. Set after the Anime. Disregards the Manga. General Cross returns from the Central Administration meeting three days after Rouvelier to find that Allen is missing. How different will things play out with the General alive, and how far will he go to protect Allen? Some profanity due to General Cross. Rating may change. I do not own any rights to this fandom.
1. Prologue & Author's Note

**Prologue: _Disaster Strikes at Midnight & Author's Note._**

* * *

It was the middle of the night, and Allen Walker was laying in his bed in the temporary head quarters of the Black Order, the building wasn't far in distance from the original which was undergoing serious repairs.

It was a building much like the old head quarters with long passageways and dated masonry with a womb like aura and dark rooms. It's protection had been hugely updated and maintained since the move, and rather than being a huge, visible tower, this building was mostly underground with only the top few levels actually above ground, though they were well hidden as well.

This sense of camouflage gave people a sense of security that was much needed after the devastation wrought on HQ, but Allen could quite share in his friend's comfort. Though he had managed to move the Ark and keep the doorways open, joining the Asian branch to both the old HQ and the temporary one, he still didn't understand why he knew how to do so. It only made Rouvelier more and more suspicious and he continued to increase the security on Allen since the man returned three days ago. Strangely, General Cross had not returned with the Inspector, and when Allen had been brave enough to ask, he'd been rebuffed very rudely by the older man.

Ever since his master had left for the meeting in Central Administration a week ago he'd felt a lingering sense of dread. Not only for his own unexplained situation but also a strange fear for General Cross. Allen didn't know anything about why he'd been able to control the Ark; he'd been restricted in even seeing his master, let alone speaking to him, and then they'd been attacked by the Level 4. There'd been no time for talking then.

He wanted to know why Cross knew so much about the mysterious Ark, and why he too, seemingly, knew about it without knowing that he did. He wanted to know why Mana had taught him the music symbols of the Ark's song. Allen had been going out of his mind and he'd come up with all sorts of wild theories to explain it all. Most of which he'd thought up lying in bed in the dead of night while everyone else was sleeping.

Allen sighed and hunched over as Timcanpy gently nudged his shoulder reassuringly, he wrapped his arms around his knees, resting against the headboard as his thoughts continued to swirl, but his head snapped up when he heard muffled footsteps from down the corridor. It wasn't an unusual sound to hear though, even in the middle of the night. A lot of people had insomnia and bad dreams and ended up walking the halls at odd hours, it wasn't unusual. With Inspector Rouvelier back, Allen himself had a lot of trouble sleeping, so he paid it little heed.

...That was, until his door creaked quietly as it was opened slowly, as though not to disturb him in his sleep. Thinking it was just one of his friends checking to see if he was getting some sleep - they'd been worrying about the dark bags under his eyes lately - so he fell back on the bed, feigning sleep, hoping they'd leave him to his brooding.

He heard several sets of footsteps approach the bed, and found this a little strange, so he opened his eyes and they widened in shock instantly.

"Who..." he breathed, sitting bolt upright. He saw six figures, all concealed by the darkness, and by the scarlet cloaks and cowls they wore. All of them appearing like the most evil of wraiths coming to take his soul.

"Breathe a single word and every one in this building dies," a deep voice spoke as they moved closer to him.

"Hey! What're you..." Allen started to yell, but before he could even defend himself, he felt a sharp crack to the back of his head, and he blacked out.

Meanwhile, Timcanpy floated around helplessly trying to defend Allen when one of the men approached the golem, muttering to himself Tim fell uselessly to the ground, invisible and dead, waking up only a later only because he was unique in comparison to other golems.

* * *

The next morning, Lavi entered the room early, intending to loudly rouse his sleeping friend, but found the room empty. For a while he searched calmly, thinking Allen had simply risen before him, but after a while the junior Bookman started to worry. He called on Lenalee, Miranda, and Krory, Chouji and Marie, the scientists, and even Kanda, but in the end they couldn't find him. Allen was no where to be seen. Komui was frantic, and the Generals were surprised to hear that Allen Walker was missing.

"He escaped!" Rouvelier cried as they gathered in Komui's office.

"He was kidnapped," Komui said.

"There's no proof," Rouvelier hissed.

"Cross' golem is gone too," General Klaud remarked.

"That's proof that he ran," the Inspector nodded eagerly.

"It doesn't prove anything," the General added sternly.

"The Ark is still functioning," Socalo said, "If that brat was gonna make a run for it, wouldn't he have made sure to take it with him, you idiot."

"Allen's clothes and things are still in his room, too," Lavi said thoughtfully.

"Well, it just proves that your security here is lax, I'll be sure to report this..."

"Allen Walker was under your supervision, Inspector," Tiedoll said suddenly, "You and your men were watching him like a hawk, if anyone is at fault here, whether he ran or was kidnapped..." he broke off without needing to finish.

"You better have evidence to make such an accusation. Even if you are a General, the Order doesn't take lightly on accusing Agency Inspectors," Rouvelier furrowed his brow and marched from the room, slamming to doors behind him.

"Now what?" Lavi sighed, "Ahhhh, Allen-kun...where'd you go..." he muttered, running a shaking hand through his messy hair.

While they talked, Rouvelier stalked the halls with a dark smile spreading across his face as he moved.

* * *

A.N. First thing's first; because I can't stand the idea of General Cross being killed off, this is set after the anime so that I can let the poor guy live. Honestly, how someone can kill of such a great character is beyond me!?

Anyway, the main focus of this story will be the father / son, teacher / pupil relationship between Cross and Allen. I was actually surprised that there aren't more; when I looked most of what I found was based predominantly when they were still travelling, all of which were really good, but not what I was looking for. One of the best ones , I think was; 'A Year' by ' Esherymack', which unfortunately is unfinished.

Personally, I think the manga got really depressing so I actually stopped reading it a while back, but I still loved the anime, so this is my attempt to solve the problem and pass the time. I think I have a tendency to treat my favourite projects on here like experiments in psychology, so be prepared for some emotion here people.

If you read my note, thank you very much for your patience :) I know prologues tend to be boring, but I included important detail about the timeline I'm setting up, so just bear with me.


	2. Cross Marian Comes and Goes

**Chapter 1: _Cross Marian Comes and Goes_**

* * *

Cross Marian disliked the Order, in fact it was more than justified to say he hated it. He remained in service because he was an exorcist down to the marrow in his bones but he hated the bureaucracy and the endless requests for reports after reports. He hadn't been ever a good team player, he worked best alone, and the upper echelons in the Vatican didn't like his attitude. But most of all, he despised people like Rouvelier, with the power to get under his skin and crawl around like an insect, the man was a nightmare.

The man also knew too much about the Fourteenth and the Ark. Cross hadn't expected the idiot to know anything at all, but he'd been surprised to learn that he did. It had been his intention to protect Allen, but it wouldn't be easy with a man like Leverrier around. He wanted to return to HQ so that he could keep an eye on the boy, but the meetings he'd been forced to attend as a result of his refusal to file the reports after his missions delayed his return. And as far as he'd been told, Rouvelier was still away from HQ as well, which set his mind somewhat at rest. However, little did he know that the man had returned, and already left as his train raced across the English countryside.

Sitting in a bustling carriage filled with ordinary men, women, and noisy children wasn't his idea of a good time, but the Order had insisted on him cutting expenses and since Allen wasn't there to get money, he couldn't afford to pay for a first class coach. How embarrassing.

It wasn't until he saw Tim struggling to keep up with the train just outside the grubby window that his concern picked up enough for him to take notice of anything. Ignoring the protests from the other passengers he opened the window and grabbed the golem from the air. He could tell immediately that Tim had something he needed to show to his master.

Then he all but ran to the first class carriages and slammed open the first door he came to. "Get out!" Cross yelled, "This is urgent business! Move! Now!" he continued to shout, pushing the expensively dressed man and woman from the small, but elegant room.

"Of all the..." the brunette woman cried.

"I never...I'm going to find the steward!" the man, presumably her husband said, dragging her away by the hand.

"Fools," Cross muttered, slamming the door shut and making sure the curtain were closed. "Tim...what happened?" he said quickly. The golden golem opened wide his mouth and the projection started to play.

The scene was dark, it showed two nights ago, when Allen had been taken from his room - it had taken a whole day days for Tim to frantically search for his master after the speed had worn off. The scene showed the cloaked figures attacking the boy, taking him from his room, and then, one stepped back, and placed a spell on the Golem. Then it vanished and Tim shrugged, indicating that he knew nothing more because of the spell.

"Allen," Cross muttered quietly, "You did good, Tim," he said to the golem, "Show me again."

As he watched the replay he tried to focus on the cloaks of the strange men through the shadows, the darkness made it difficult to see much detail but Cross was certain that he knew just who was responsible for taking his apprentice. And, as frustrating as it was, he could do nothing until he reached Headquarters.

* * *

As much as he tried to disguise the fact, Cross couldn't deny he was concerned. He'd heard endless rumours about men with unusual powers, wearing scarlet cloaks and their ruthless methods. Cross knew they worked for the Vatican, and as controversial as it was for a religious organisation to have an Assassination Squad, the world wasn't perfect.

Them men who had taken his apprentice two nights ago went operated under the name 'Crow'; The Crow Assassination Squad. An elite team of powerful magicians who acted as the mindless puppets of the men ruling the Vatican. They were ruthless and cruel, they showed no mercy to women or children, and now they had his apprentice. He could just ignore everything; it would be easier. But he couldn't simply let them destroy Allen. If they did then the Fourteenth would certainly take him over and destroy them in turn, thus marking Allen forever as a traitor...Perhaps that wasn't the only reason, but it was the only one Cross would let himself believe.

On entering the temporary Headquarters Cross marched through the long corridors with a purposeful stride. News of his return spread quickly, and soon he was met by Allen's friends.

"General...Allen-kun...he's gone..." Lenalee said.

"I know," Cross told her.

"You know? How?"

"General Cross," Inspector Rouvelier spoke, walking slowly down the corridor towards them. Reever moved so that he stood in front of Lenalee but she stood tall, showing a look of deep anger, instead of fear.

"Inspector Rouvelier, here to welcome me back are you?" Cross smirked, "I hear you returned before me, had some secret business to conduct, did you?"

"Hmm," Rouvelier chuckled, "You should watch what you say, Cross, you're already in trouble, you shouldn't make it worse."

"Aren't you in trouble? My idiot apprentice vanished when you were supposed to be watching his every move," the General remarked.

"He ran from us," the Inspector said, "It's embarrassing that he evaded my security, but if he had nothing to hide he wouldn't have left. After all, you know what he'll become - if he hasn't already, it's just happened sooner than either of us expected," the man smirked.

"Oh, really," Cross muttered.

"Of course, what else could it have been. The boy was unstable; he was dangerous, an unnecessary risk, this proves that he is no longer Allen Walker."

"Hmm, well if you say so, Inspector," the General shrugged and walked off, closing his eyes and letting out a deep sigh.

"Wait! General!" Lenalee cried, running after him, her friends following. "Where's Allen-kun? Who took him?" she asked quickly.

Cross said nothing, but continued to walk and when he reach the door to Komui's office he turned to them with a stern expression.

"Listen to me," he ordered, "This is none of your concern; you can't do anything..."

"Rouvelier took him didn't he? Didn't he?!" the girl breathed.

"Enough!" Cross yelled, "If you, any of you, get involved in this, you'll condemn both yourselves and my idiot apprentice."

"We have to do something..." Miranda began.

"You'll get yourselves killed."

"But..." Lavi frowned.

"Don't do anything," the General insisted, "Unless you want Allen to die, don't do anything. Don't do anything stupid."

"Then what..." Reever started to ask.

"Leave this to me," Cross said, his visible red eye burning, "And play the parts of good little soldiers who believe what they're told, otherwise you'll get yourselves killed."

"Killed?" Krory repeated in concern.

"Yes, killed," Cross nodded.

"Allen...he's in serious trouble...isn't he?" Lenalee sighed.

"Yeah, and everyone here's probably under surveillance," the General told them, "So don't do anything to make Rouvelier suspicious."

"What...will you do?" Lavi asked.

"Who knows?" Cross shrugged, turning away and opening the doors to Komui's temporary office, "Now scram," the General told them before entering the room and closing the doors behind him.

"I've been expecting you to come," Komui said from his desk.

"Well, here I am, now you can tell me what I don't already know," Cross replied, slouching down on the sofa.

"How did you already know about Allen?"

"Tim saw it," the General answered and the golem flapped his wings, emerging from under Cross's long hair.

"Then...you know who took him?"

"How do you know he didn't just leave?" Cross shrugged.

"I know Allen. He wouldn't run."

"Mmm, I know who it was...The 'Crow' Assassination Squad...it's Rouvelier's meddling," Cross said and Komui paled at the mention of the infamous Assassination Squad.

"After he came back, Rouvelier started pushing for more and more security on Allen. He held another meeting...he wants Allen tried for heresy...he won't let up on it...and you know what that means. I think he kept you out of Headquarters for as long as possible to observe Allen, and when they couldn't keep you away anymore they just took him."

"Mmm," Cross nodded.

"But where would they take him?" Komui furrowed his brow, "If we assume they took him for questioning...they won't have gone far."

"I've heard stories..."

"About?"

"The Tower," Cross said, "There's rumours of an underground complex built to defend against Innocence rather than demons. Rouvelier is afraid of Allen's power. If there's one place they'd take Exorcists for questioning, it's there."

"The Tower...huh..." Komui sighed, "How could they send a child there?" he muttered, his head falling to rest in his hand.

"Easily," the General sighed, "Kid didn't put up much of a fight."

"He's not been eating," Komui explained, "He hardly sleeps...everyone's been worried. I think...everything's really been getting to him."

"Hmm. What about that kid watching him? Link?"

"He's still here...he denies knowing what happened...he wasn't in their shared room at the time...he says he was doing important paperwork that Rouvelier had asked for," Komui sighed. "General, will you tell me...why you took Allen as your apprentice? Leverrier told me certain things...was it really just because you knew about the Fourteenth?"

"Probably," Cross turned away from the Chief Officers' piercing stare.

"What does the Fourteenth have to do with Allen? He's just a child."

"...It's a long story...I probably should've told him...but..."

"...But..." Komui prompted, making Cross fidget restlessly and run a hand through his hair in frustration.

"It's all so messed up," he growled.

"General Cross, if you won't tell me...at least...when you find him...tell him, he deserves to know."

"I never said I was going anywhere."

"Didn't have to; you'll go," Komui smiled, "If it's Allen, you'll go."

"Hmm," Cross scoffed.

"Rouvelier probably knows that too, he'll be ready for you."

"That fool, he can try to be," the General shrugged.

"Don't underestimate him, he knows more than he's letting on. This could be his plan to get both of you tried for heresy!"

"They can't try me for heresy!" Cross snarled.

"Why not? There's nothing stopping him if his bosses want it, and I can only do so much...lately it's seemed as though I can't do anything at all," Komui sighed, leaning back in his chair. "If they catch you going after Allen, they'll lock you up for treason at least whether your a General or not...fact is...they don't like you."

"I don't care," the General said simply, "I don't like them, damn useless bureaucrats."

"They may be, but they don't care about exorcists or Generals or Supervisors...everyone is replaceable to them. Please...be careful, General."

"You're not my mother," Cross muttered, "I can take care of myself."

"And you're capable of disappearing for years at a time...if you have to, you can keep him safe from them. Even if it means going under the radar for years, as long as it keeps him away from them..."

"I know...I know..."

"I'll help you if I can, but..."

"I don't expect you to help me," Cross said sincerely, "Allen is my apprentice. This is my problem."

"He's my friend, it's my problem too," Komui replied, "Friends help each other," he said and Cross scoffed.

"Don't get involved; the Crow Assassins don't differentiate between people with or without Innocence. You'll all just get in the way."

Komui leaned over onto his desk, putting his elbows on the surface and his head in his hands. "When did things get out of control?" he muttered.

"Don't be stupid...they've always been out of control," Cross remarked, and they both fell silent.

* * *

The cafeteria of the temporary Headquarters had been in a constant state of upheaval since Allen's disappearance, but with the return of General Cross it got even worse. Though everyone tended to agree that Allen and Cross were no traitors, it was difficult for people to understand that the Order was acting against its own people. Only a select few knew about the Fourteenth, and even fewer understood what his existence in Allen's meant.

Cross knew that one day, his apprentice would be taken over by the will of the Fourteenth, but part of him hoped that somehow Allen would win the battle and, instead of being the one controlled, he could be the controller. The thought that he would one day have to tell the boy the truth about Mana Walker wasn't one that the General wanted to dwell on.

As he entered the busy room, everyone fell silent, the security detail that Leverrier ordered had begun watching him the moment he stepped out of Komui's office, now followed him as he moved, but the General took no notice of the tense atmosphere around him.

Lenalee sat prodding her food with her fork with Lavi, Kroy, and Miranda, and she looked up as Cross neared.

"General," Lenelee said in a strained voice, she knew not to speak about Allen with Cross's security detail around.

"Mmm," Cross nodded without stopping. His 'guards' still refused to buy him expensive wine and it didn't help his foul mood, so all he'd done was shout at them all day. He knew he'd never get a moment alone as long as he remained at HQ, so he'd never be able to tell the exorcists not to antagonise Rouvelier. The whole situation only made him more and more frustrated, and when he was frustrated he tended to act not sit around thinking.

That night Cross's agitation peaked and he could stand it no longer, patience and planning be damned, he was a man of action. Using Magdala Curtain, Cross left his rooms in the guise of one of his own guards, who believed that their charge was one of them, he was able to move through the shadows of the building with ease. He took only the barest essentials so's not to hinder his escape; it would be hard enough with Rouvelier's precautions, since the man knew about his abilities, just not enough to completely counteract them.

He was just leaving the building when he heard a rustle of fabric from behind him.

"You lost your security detail then," Komui said, crossing his arms.

"Not a problem," Cross told him without turning round.

"I brought you some help," the Chief Officer said suddenly.

"What?!" the General frowned, turning to look at the man, "I told you..."

"I don't think she'll get in your way," he said, and a woman stepped out from the shadows. It was General Klaud Nyne dressed head to toe in black, her black trousers visible through the folds in her cloak. It was made of simple black fabric with no gold or silver adornment to be seen. Lau Shimin, the small monkey sat on her right shoulder, and she held a bag over her left.

"You told her?" Cross snapped at Komui.

"I thought it was best not to let you go alone."

"You mean you don't want me to run off again, mother," the General sighed.

"Well, yes," Komui nodded, pushing his glasses up.

"I'm coming with you," Klaud said in a tone that left no room for argument.

"You'll just get in my way, this has nothing to to with you," Cross told her, her tone seemingly having no effect.

"I was told that Allen Walker has enough power to one day become a General, and Generals take care of their own."

"No, Generals don't do that," Cross dead panned.

"Yes, we do," Klaud insisted, "I don't want to see that kid die because of men like Rouvelier; I've seen enough good people die."

"Everyone knows the risks," Cross said, "Allen especially."

"Then why are you going after him?" she asked smugly.

"He pays my debts," the man answered with a smile, "There's no one else stupid enough to do it."

"...I do have a few things you need."

"Not right now, pretty lady," he replied quickly.

"Not that!" she rolled her eyes, "I brought food, money, and some clothes for me, you, and I took some of yours for the kid when we find him as well - there's a security detail on his room so I had to...Men never think the of practical side of things."

"I'm a very practical-thinking man," Cross muttered.

"Really? Did you bring any of that?"

"Well...I..."

"If he's being held at the Tower we both know he's not walking out of there without some help, I've heard about how people are treated there, and I don't like it."

"If Generals care so much why are you the only one here?"

"We didn't tell the others," Komui answered, "Tiedoll has his new pupil to focus on and...well...you know Socalo..."

"You're still not coming," Cross said, pointing his gun, Judgement, at her.

"Your only pupil is being tortured in the Tower as we speak," she said, unafraid, "Do we really have the time for this?"

"Here," Komui walked over to them as Cross growled and lowered his gun. The Supervisor put a hand in his pocket, "Use these, I fixed them up to work long range. You will let me know if...when you find him, wont you?" he all but begged as the two Generals each examined the golden earring transmitters.

"Yeah, yeah," Cross waved him off, securing the device to his ear, "You make sure the kids don't run off on their own," he said sternly.

"I'll try, but if they think nothing's being done, it'll be difficult to keep from looking for Allen," the Supervisor frowned.

"Tell them we're working on it if you have to, just...don't tell them about the Tower," Klaud said and Komui nodded.

"What'll you do when you find him? You can't bring him back here, not for a while," he asked.

Klaud glanced at Cross, at a loss herself she sighed, "Keep him away from Rouvelier," Cross answered simply.

"That'll have to do for now, I guess. You better go before someone sees you," Komui said, "Good luck," he added, before the two Generals walked off into the night.


	3. Barbarism Beneath the Tower

**Chapter 2: _Barbarism Beneath the Tower_**

* * *

Since taking a train or carriage was far too conspicuous, Klaud opted to buy two horses so that they could travel as unseen as possible, even with Maria's magic still working to disguise their identities just to be safe, it was still too much of a risk to be seen in public more than was necessary. They rode quickly through the countryside under cover of silent darkness until morning came when they slowed they pace to rest the horses and to keep alert.

"You realise of course," Klaud Nyne began sometime after sunrise, "That we're now both enemies of the Vatican."

"Mmm," Cross muttered, "I told you, you shouldn't have come."

"I just don't think you realise the serious of this matter; you're treating it like a holiday! It's serious! It's not a game!"

"What do you want me to do? Run around like a madman and hope that somehow my idiot apprentice will escape the Tower on his own?"

"Of course not..." she sighed, "Just stop fidgeting on that damn horse, and stop smoking for just one minute!" Klaud yelled, wafting a hand in the air to disperse the miasma of smoke that seemed to grow and grow as Cross smoked cigarette after cigarette.

"No, this is how I pass the time."

"By giving yourself lung cancer?!"

"You sound just like Allen," Cross sighed. "I need a drink," the man moaned, "Oi, Klaud, go get me a drink, some red wine...and make it a good one!"

"I don't know how that child managed to travel with you for three whole years!" Klaud exclaimed, shaking her head.

"Knock it off," Cross grumbled.

"He's probably more grown up than you..."

"Shut it..."

"Honestly, how you even managed to survive on your own is a mystery!"

"Alright, I get it, I get," the man sighed in defeat, "...This means I'm not gonna get a drink, doesn't it?"

"It does."

"Ahh!" he growled, "The sooner I get my idiot apprentice back, the better, at least he gets me booze when I tell him to!"

"Maybe he shouldn't."

"Shut it," Cross hissed, "...Anyway...aren't you gonna ask me anything? Everyone else wants to know everything."

"Like what?"

"Things about the Fourteenth...about Allen."

"Would you tell me anything if I did?"

"Probably not," he shrugged.

"...That's why," Klaud explained, "It's none of my business who you choose to take as your apprentice or why. I'm not the one you need to explain things to, you know."

"Yeah, yeah."

"You really should've told him before you left for the meeting, he's been going out of his mind," she said, not knowing what an apt description it really was.

"Didn't have a chance, did I?" Cross muttered.

"If you wanted to, you could've found a way. You're keeping it from him on purpose...is it really that bad?" Klaud asked sadly, looking across at him.

Cross had long since stopped his uncomfortable fidgeting on his horse, and his cigarette hung from his mouth, he was stock still, staring into space, "No," he said, "It's worse."

"Then I pity the poor kid," she sighed gravely, running a hand through her horses' mane.

"...Yeah..." Cross whispered.

* * *

To both Cross and Klaud, time seemed to pass slowly and neither of them were particularly loquacious. As they grew ever nearer to Central London the noise increased along with the light; it was nearing early morning, and the street lamps were clustered around the capital, making it difficult for the Generals to stay completely hidden.

By the time they reached the bank of the Thames it was early morning and the Tower was bathed in an eerie light, casting long shadows in which they could hide. But even from the outside they could see dozens of cloaked assassins standing vigilant.

"This isn't going to be easy," Klaud sighed.

"You think so?" Cross smirked, "Did you forget who I am? There's no place I can't break into...with a little help."

"They're élite magicians trained to fight against Innocence...will Magdala's Curtain really work on them?"

"It should; not many people know about it, just don't draw attention to yourself," the man answered and Tim his himself in Cross's abundant hair, "And hide the monkey," he added.

"How sure are you that this will work? This could've been Leverrier's plan from the start," Klaud said.

"You think I haven't considered that?" Cross hissed.

"...You really care about this kid, don't you?" she grinned, "I never thought I'd see the day...I really am going to have to get to know him better..."

"Shut up," he growled, shooting her a harsh glare before moving closer to the imposing edifice.

Hiding the horses where they planned to run to after escaping, they approached slowly, keeping track of each moving cloaked figure as it slithered from shadow to shadow while Maria sang on, using the strongest spell to counteract the powers of the highly trained assassins.

Cross, never one to dwell on fear, walked to mimic the smooth movements of the assassins, confident in Maria's ability, and Klaud followed him a second later. Not one person took a second glance at the Generals, and they were allowed entrance to the Tower.

The first rooms they entered had traditional stone masonry, but as they went deeper and deeper into the building, it became clear that this was a fortress that had been added to over centuries, with new metals and even glass in places. There was evidence of dark spells throughout the building, but this still didn't deter the Generals from their task.

They approached a small group of guards taking orders from a man with an authoritative, brutal tone, he was furious about something.

"It's not good enough!" the man shouted. He wasn't wearing the standard cloak, instead wore an official suit, much the same as Rouvelier's, only his bore the insignia of a High Inquisitor; a person known, much like the Crow Squad, for their ruthlessness and cruelty. "They're getting more and more impatient every second we delay!"

"...We're using every method, Inquisitor Marcus, we..." one of the cloaked men said when the Generals came within hearing distance.

"Well use them again and again, don't let him eat or sleep!" the man spoke again.

"Sir..."

"You two," the Inquisitor suddenly said, pointing at Cross and Klaud, or as he saw it, two guards. "With me, and you," he turned to the man who had spoken last, "If you fail again, I assure you it won't end well."

"Understood, sir," the cloaked man nodded.

The Inquisitor lead them to a sealed door which was opened by two keys, one from the man himself, and the other from one of two men standing on either side of the door.

"What's the plan?" Klaud whispered to Cross.

"You're asking me?" he muttered.

"He's your apprentice."

"...Wait and see what happens. Don't do anything yet."

"You know what they do to people...if we don't stop them..."

"Wait for the best moment, if the Inquisitor sees us it'll make this a lot harder," Cross said, and the door was opened.

It was pitch black inside, with no windows and the door was at least ten inches thick, every surface was enhanced with spells and charms designed to bind the power of Innocence. Both Generals could feel the draining effect of the magic on their own powers and it made them feel slightly drowsy. To anyone with a lot less power then them, the real effect would've been devastating; Allen was a fairly powerful young boy, but there was no doubt that it was affecting him.

He was badly beaten and bloody, his left arm wrapped tightly in chains and magic charms. His arms raised up, hanging from chains attached to the ceiling and his black, long sleeved shirt was torn, almost shredded in places, his pale skin oozing blood.

"Hello again, boy," the inquisitor smiled, "You're making my job very difficult, you know. My superiors are eager to find out what you know..."

"I told you, I don't know anything!" Allen said, his voice hoarse.

"...Well, then, maybe your master does," the man replied calmly, "Maybe we should've brought him here as well, if you don't tell us what we want to know, we'll..." he began to threaten but Allen chuckled darkly. "What are you laughing at, brat?" the man snapped suddenly.

"You idiot!" Allen said, "You really think you could do this," he said, rattling his chains, "To my master...he'd knock you all out in five seconds then go get drunk."

"You're sure about that?"

"100%. My debts don't lie."

"...I heard he's gone missing again."

"Huh?"

"He managed to evade security and leave Headquarters," the man said, "I think he's run off to save his own skin and left you with us. No one's coming to save you, so why don't you just tell us what we need to know?"

"I..."

"We could bring him here, there's an empty cell next to yours."

"I just told you; you wouldn't stand a chance."

"I've got the strongest division in the assassination squad ready to act, and they've dealt with stronger people than your General Cross Marian."

"Yeah, sure they have."

"You think he has no weaknesses?"

"Dunno. It's not like he'd tell me."

"We could make things easier for you in here, you know," the man said, walking leisurely towards the boy, "Everyone has a weakness; tell me what his is, and we'll consider lessening your sentence."

"You really think I'd believe that? You people don't like me or master. You put me in chains and you really think I'd turn traitor for you?"

"Not even if it saved your life?"

"Even if I knew...even if you'd keep your word...no."

"Then you're more stupid than you look, kid."

"What does the Order want with master?" Allen asked before one of the cloaked assassins raised his right hand and shot a blast of dark purple energy at him, making him scream out.

Klaud turned discreetly to Cross who only shook his head once, he didn't want to make a scene by alerting the man in charge, if possible. If that happened he'd condemn Allen to a fate even worse than what he had already, and Cross wasn't sure yet just how the spells in the building would affect his and Klaud's Innocence. The Assassins were capable of using power to greatly weaken Innocence regardless of a persons power level. So, if that meant they had to stand and watch an entire interrogation then so be it. Allen was strong enough to survive.

"I'm running this interrogation, not you, Allen Walker," the interrogator snarled, "And you will tell me everything."

"I don't know anything!" Allen screamed.

"Then you'll never leave this place; we'll keep you down here forever. You might have managed to get out of your chains once...it won't happen again...not with those spells. I've even been told that there are spells to slowly and painfully extract the power of the Innocence from the body. Perhaps we should try and see if it works."

"I'd like to see you try," Allen growled, pulling hard on the chairs with his fingers and wrists. His left arm crackled with green energy, "You can't keep me here forever, I'll get out again, and when I do, I'll...ahhhhhhh!" Allen broke off into a yell as the assassins attacked him again and the energy vanished.

"Now, back on topic...tell me everything you know about the Fourteenth," the man ordered.

"Nothing," Allen said, his breathing laboured and his skin torn as he was attacked again after he spoke.

"How did you know how to control the Ark?"

"I don't know."

"What does Cross know about it?"

"Don't know," Allen repeated and the man sighed.

"This is becoming tiresome."

"Sorry to hear that," the boy dead-panned just as someone else entered the room.

"Sir," the new cloaked person began, "There's a call from the Vatican, they want an update from you, sir...you personally."

"They sure know how to ruin a good time," the inquisitor droned and turned to, who he believed were the three guards. "You three, stay here, and make sure he's ready to talk when I get back," the man said to them, "Use whatever it takes, they're getting impatient."

"Yes sir," the first man said, and Cross and Klaud followed. The interrogator nodded in satisfaction and left the room.

"So, you going to make our job easy or hard, kid?" the real assassin asked. "Let's try again...tell me everything to know about the Fourteenth."

"...Alright," Allen said suddenly, raising his head weakly for a moment, and the Generals glanced at each other when he said nothing else.

"Well...get on with it," the assassin prompted.

"What? You told me to tell you what I know...and for the hundredth time; I don't know anything..." the boy's voice trailed off, getting ever more quiet, lowering his head in anticipation of another attack.

"Wrong answer!" he chuckled and raised his hand but before he could attack, Cross punched him in the face, knocking him out cold.

"Weakling," Cross snarled at the unconscious assassin.

"Who's there?" Allen muttered weakly.

"Oi, idiot apprentice, it's your lucky day...it's god," Cross said with a small smile.

"God?" Allen repeated and struggled to raise his head. When his eyes came to rest on the form of the two people standing there he saw only nondescript guards, but once Maria's ability worked to allow him to see past the spell, he was able to see the face of his master. "No, not god, the devil," he corrected weakly.

"Very funny," Cross rolled his eyes.

"...Is this a dream?" Allen asked as Klaud moved quickly to free the boy from the thick chains.

"A dream? If I wasn't so heartless I'd be flattered, idiot," the man droned.

"...I meant nightmare," Allen corrected himself automatically, and blinked quickly, trying to focus, "M...master...really...I'm not seeing things?"

"Nope," the General said.

"Then...you were there the whole time?"

"Yeah, so?"

"Then why didn't you stop them sooner?!" Allen complained.

"Shut up, this is a 'search and rescue', but if you keep talking it'll be 'search and destroy', got it?"

"Yes, sir," Allen replied weakly as General Klaud succeeded in freeing him from the chains, leaving only the seals on his arm to go. When she tried to remove them however a type of electric shock ran down her fingers.

"These aren't normal seals..." she remarked.

"Hmm, what'd you do t'deserve this special treatment?" Cross asked.

"...Escaped...well...kinda..."

"Idiot," his master said with a sigh.

"Sorry..." Allen said, his eyes closing.

"Hey, Walker, don't fall asleep, okay," Klaud said, shaking him gently.

"...Wanna sleep...please..."

"Later, I promise," she said.

"M'kay..." he muttered.

"Come on, we've got to go," Klaud gently started to pull him up but stopped when he doubled over, wincing and grimacing.

"...Go...go where?" the boy asked, in between deep breaths, trying to control himself as he curled up on the floor.

"As far away as possible," Cross said, kneeling down, "...No time for delicacy, come on, kid," he said pulling Allen's right arm across his broad shoulders, trying to ignore his apprentice's moans and groans of pain.

"Stop...please...put me down..." the boy cried.

"You wanna stay here?" Cross asked sarcastically.

"...N...no."

"Right, then either stand up and walk, or be dragged outta here by your hair," Cross said and Allen stared up at him.

"Okay," he nodded, trying to get up off the ground, his movements hindered by his wounds. Once again, Cross took Allen's arm over his shoulders and stared at the charms on his left arm.

"That'll have to wait," he told the boy, who only nodded slightly.

Klaud moved quickly to open the door as quietly as possible and she easily disabled the two guards standing there. They moved quietly through the hallways, slinking into the shadows to avoid being seen. The illusion of Magdala Curtain was being worn down both by the spells in the Tower, and by their actions; after all, two guards taking a prisoner from their cell is suspicious no matter how strong the illusion is.

"This is never gonna work," Allen said to his master, "You shouldn't have..."

"Be quiet," Cross told him simply, and Allen grumbled.

Again, they rounded a corner, only this time they wound up staring into the cowls of at least three dozen cloaked assassins. Each one carried a spear with a pointed end, crackling with energy. The Inquisitor stood at the centre of them, and he crossed his arms as the Generals were stopped in their tracks, and, unfortunately for them, the illusion had long disappeared.

"I wondered how long it'd be before something happened...and it's General Cross himself, how marvellous...and General Klaud Nyne...I must confess, you surprise me. But, no matter," the Inquisitor smirked. "You've just signed your own death warrants...traitors."

"You'd already done that for us," Cross replied calmly.

"I'm afraid I can't comment on that."

"Spoken like a true bureaucrat," Cross gave a smile as Allen slumped down his side, a dead weight.

"You have something of ours," the man raised his eyebrows at the semi-conscious child, "We really do need Mr. walker back."

"I was thinking about taking him on holiday for a while," the General replied.

"I can't allow that," said the inquisitor, and the assassins swarmed on the Generals.

Cross swore under his breath and lifted Allen into his arms, rather than dragging the boy along. He knew it was impossible to use Judgment on humans, and short of beating them all to a pulp, he couldn't do much of anything. He couldn't reveal Maria's true abilities because then Rouvelier would know to counteract it, thus making it harder for them to escape anywhere, no matter where they went. But what else could he do?

"Lau Shimin!" Klaud cried, and the small monkey emerged from her cloak, transforming into a giant simian. She jumped onto his back, and Cross reluctantly followed, still with the boy in his arms.

The simian made short work of the long corridors, easily outrunning the assassins, but not completely escaping their attacks. As they moved thought the building on the back of the giant primate, the animal seemed to slow and become weaker.

"Lau..." Klaud furrowed her brow as the simian panted deeply as another attack hit its shoulder. It was much weaker than usual, and as a General, she wasn't acclimatised to feeling weak.

Suddenly, Lau Shimin collapsed to the ground, transforming back into its smaller state without Klaud's order and she stared in shock at her beloved monkey.

"Every inch of this building was fortified with every anti-Innocence spell known to mankind..." the Inquisitor spoke, stepping out from behind the shadows to stare at them. "Something even you, General Cross, can't have known, is that the moment a user of Innocence enters, it begins to counteract your powers; eventually, within these walls, you won't be able to use it all. Prolonged exposure would, we assume, lead to a permanent loss of the ability, but we haven't had time to fully test this theory."

"Test?!" Klaud exclaimed.

"Each spell was strengthened a hundred-fold before we bought Allen Walker here. Even as Generals you're clearly weaker, and since we are human, your weapons are useless anyway."

Knowing that there was no other way for them to escape - without a huge fight which would probably end up with Allen more injured than he already was, Cross swore under his breath. He would have to call Maria to them and use Magdala Curtain as quickly as possible.

"Maria..." he started to chant quietly.

"Master, don't do it...that's what they want..." Allen managed to whisper to his master.

"You think I don't know that?" he muttered back.

"They kept asking me how your power works...I'm the bait."

"Stupid apprentice, I already knew that."

"Then why'd you come?!"

Cross simply shrugged, frowning as he turned to glare the the Inquisitor. He knew he needed to act quickly; his magical hold on Maria's power wouldn't be affected by the anti-Innocence seals of the Tower, but Maria herself would be. "On, Avata, Ura, Masarakat...On-gatar..."

"Cross!" Klaud's scolded, her eyes widening as the tell-tale white light that signified Maria's arrival, appeared on the floor.

"Magdala Curtain," the man ordered gravely, before the woman had even fully emerged.

The Inquisitor's eyes focused intently as the magically animated corpse appeared, floating slightly above ground level. As soon as she appeared, her usual graceful manner vanished, her limbs were crackling as small lighting bolts danced on her skin. Being in indirect contact with the strong spells, Maria was severely weakened; her whole being was animated by only magic and Innocence, most of which was being drained. Her hands reached up to clutch her head and she opened her mouth to scream but no sound came out; a corpse could not scream, her voice could only be heard when her Innocence was activated.

"Maria!" Cross yelled, "Activate!"

"Cross, the spells, she's just Innocence!" Klaud shouted, "It'll destroy her!"

"Now!" the man ordered Maria, ignoring the other General and in a strained, though still beautiful voice, she began to sing.


	4. The Hiding Begins

**Chapter 3: _The Hiding Begins_**

* * *

Maria's voice lacked its usual overbearing aura and the effect of her power on the assassins was by no means instantaneous. Cross was tense as the light blue barrier formed around them and he wasn't surprised when they weren't attacked. He knew this whole thing was a trap. A trap to learn more about what they knew of the Fourteenth. A trap to see just what the Order's spells could do against some of the most powerful Innocence. And a trap to learn about Cross's ability to control Maria...and he'd just given it to them on a silver platter, not to mention he'd only proven he had a soft spot for his only apprentice.

It irritated him that he'd knowing, and willingly walked into someone's trap - the worlds' most obvious trap, for another human being. He didn't like to think he had any weaknesses but he clearly did when it came to Allen Walker, and he couldn't have made it more obvious. But the stories he'd heard of the torture of the Tower's prisoners had forced his hand. The guards and assassins were known throughout the underworld for their savagery, and he simply couldn't leave the boy with them.

Allen was struggling to keep his eyes open now, and the General swore again. The draining effect of the Tower's defences weren't helping the boy's condition and some of his wounds needed immediate attention. "Maria!" he growled, looking across at the woman. She was still being greatly weakened but the magic binding her Innocence to Cross was forcing her to use her power despite the spells trying to disable it.

After what seemed like an eternity, the barrier was completed and they vanished from the sight of each and every enemy in the room, and could literally walk from the building.

* * *

As soon as it became clear that the Generals had managed to leave the area, Inquisitor Marcus strolled to his office and dialled a familiar number on his telephone.

"Sir, you were right, General Cross Marian was here," the Inquisitor said, "...With General Klaud Nyne."

"Did everything go according to plan?" Inspector Rouvelier asked on his end.

"Yes, sir, they barely got away. We believe we now know how the forbidden Innocence, Maria works, and the limits of her power. The magic used to animate her was weakened by our spells, and her Innocence was much more vulnerable then others to our charms."

"Good work."

"Sir, if I may...though it had its benefits, by allowing the Generals to escape, we may never find Allen Walker again; General Cross is capable of disappearing for years at a time..."

"Yes, but now we know partly how he does that," Rouvelier said, "And now we need a method to counteract it."

"Yes, sir."

"The status of all three is now; traitor, we have reward money lined up for anyone with even the slightest suspicions, and there are Squads being deployed as we speak. It won't be long before they're found. Allen Walker may not know anything about the Fourteenth, but the General certainly does."

"Yes, sir," the Inquisitor repeated, and the Inspector said his goodbyes.

* * *

"Nii-san!" Lenalee hollered as she all but ran through the halls of temporary HQ. She entered her brothers office, which had seemingly been coated in a new layer of papers overnight. "Why? Why is everyone saying Allen-kun is a traitor?!" she demanded.

"Because..." her brother began, putting down the telephone he'd been using to speak to Chief Officer Bak of the Asia Branch.

"He'd never do anything..." Lenalee was saying.

"...I know, but I didn't..."

"And General Cross...where is he anyway, why didn't he do anything to stop this?"

"Lenalee!" Komui cried, "None of us can do anything because it was the people of the Vatican that made Allen-kun, General Cross and General Klaud, traitors."

"What? Generals too? Can they do that?"

"Lenalee-chan..." Bak-san muttered, his hives once more breaking out despite the seriousness of the situation. His outbreak went largely unnoticed by Komui and Lenalee, as did the loud, booming voice that subsequently shouted: "Bak-sama!"

"They went looking for Allen, and they're traitors because of it," Komui said to his sister.

"Why couldn't we have helped?!"

"We didn't want you to throw your lives away..."

"Wait...'we'...you mean you knew about it...where Allen-kun was..." she furrowed her brow and her brother sighed.

"I'll call you back," he told the other Chief Officer, then walked over to his sister.

"I can't say too much, the situation is dangerous, but the Generals chose to help him and they're old enough to make that decision. They've had their career, you don't even have that yet."

"But..."

"You doubt that they could find him?"

"Well, no, but...General Cross said..."

"Whatever he told you; he's a good person...it's just hard to believe sometimes..."

"Mmm," she smiled.

"Just be careful about what you say; Rouvelier's still got eyes and ears everywhere...and we believe he was behind Allen's kidnapping," Komui said as calmly as possible, choosing to leave out telling his sister of the barbaric place that Allen had been taken to. He was also worried that the Generals hadn't contacted him yet.

"Rouvelier?!"

"Hmm," he nodded, "But unless you act as though you believe everything he says about Allen-kun running away, he might lock you up as well."

"But, Allen-kun..."

"Could well be with the Generals as we speak, he's safer than the rest of us."

"Yeah...I guess so..." she sighed, "Then...what...Rouvelier said some thing about Allen being unstable...a risk...what did he mean?"

"I...I don't know..." Komui said, "I really don't know. But there's something in Allen's past that they think makes him...some kind of risk...Cross knows about it...he's trying to protect Allen."

"But..."

"And we can help him by not making Rouvelier any more suspicious than he is already, alright?"

"...Well...okay..." Lenalee nodded, sceptically.

* * *

Klaud Nyne rode swiftly with Lau Shimin sleeping in the folds of her cloak; the effects of the Crow's spells had drained him and she was riding as carefully as possible. They'd been riding for hours and they were pushing the horses to their limit.

Cross meanwhile, was having to keep the horse travelling where he wanted it to, and trying to keep Allen awake so that he didn't fall off the animal. The General was sitting behind the boy, with one hand on the reigns and the other round his apprentices' torso.

"Did I give you permission to sleep?!" he growled, as he felt the boy slump forwards.

"...S...shut up..." Allen muttered back, "...I...I'm tired..."

"Don't tell your master to shut up, brat!"

"...Just did," the boy replied.

"Che," the man scoffed, "You're getting way too rude for my liking, and you're filthy...again. You're rude and filthy. You know how I feel about that," he added, but Allen didn't say anything. "Oi!" Cross shook his apprentice to wake him up.

"Huh...wha..." Allen muttered, shaking his head. His vision had started to blur hours ago, "Why won't you just let me sleep?" he moaned.

"We need to treat his wounds," Klaud frowned.

"We've not gone far enough yet," Cross shook his head.

"We've passed almost thirty miles, and we've been pushing the horses for too long; they need rest and so do we."

"If they find us it'll all be a waste of time."

"If they were following us we would've lost them miles ago. They got what they wanted, so for the moment at least, we're as safe as we're ever going to be. We need to find some shelter," she said, looking across at Allen's slumping figure. Cross's arm around him was now the only thing from keeping the boy from lying flat on the horses neck and it was straining the mans' arm to keep Allen upright and steer the animal.

"Fine, you find somewhere - we rest, if not we keep moving."

So, they rode on slowly, Timcanpy flying ahead in search of shelter, and he soon returned, flapping his wings madly in the air then circling around Allen's unmoving head.

"There...it looks abandoned," Klaud said, straining her eyes to see what the golem had done. It looked like a small, wooden hut with a broken roof which had been reclaimed by the flora. "We can't ride further without treating his injuries," she added with emphasis.

"Yeah," Cross agreed, staring at the back of his apprentice's head, "Alright," he said, steering his horse towards the shed.

It was a purely wooden structure and looked like it had been abandoned for good reason; it showed signs of mould and damp, and in places the wood was flaking away.

"Maybe we'd be safer outside of this thing," Cross said to himself, frowning at the sight. The thought of having to spend any amount of time in such a structure was beyond disgusting to him.

"Don't start," Klaud scoffed, dismounting her horse and taking the reigns, keeping Lau Shimin in her other hand. "We're fugitives now; we can't afford to be picky," she said and Cross sighed.

"Oi," he turned to his sleeping apprentice, "I mean it this time, ride's over, wake up," he said, shaking the boy.

"Hmmm..." Allen managed to mumble.

"Cross, leave it, he's not waking up with those wounds," Klaud frowned. She gently placed Lau Shimin on the ground and walked over to the other horse on which Cross was still sat, trying to wake the boy up. "Let me help," she said, and together, the Generals manoeuvred the sleeping child so that he was in Klaud's arms, allowing Cross to dismount his horse.

He took of his cloak, leaving him still with an unmarked black coat atop a white poet's shirt, and he handed the cloak to Klaud. Then he carried Allen into the wooden structure and gestured to his companion to lay out the dark garment on the dirty floor; she did so with a stony expression. "Poor kid's in tatters," she remarked, putting her simian down and nestling him in her own cloak, letting him sleep.

"Still had some fight in him though, didn't he?" Cross replied, kneeling beside the sleeping boy, wondering just where to start treating the numerous wounds.

The chains and seals around Allen's arm were difficult to ignore and it was probably keeping his body from even trying to heal itself, since the boy was had a parasitic Innocence. The General reached a gloved hands out to attempt to remove them, but when his fingers came into contact with it, he received the same type of shock that Klaud had.

"Useless...we can't get rid of it like this," Cross growled, pulling his hand away again.

"What do you mean?" Klaud asked.

"Magic put it there; magic has to remove it," he said.

"Then you...could you..."

"Mmm," he nodded, "On. Amata. Ira. Masagarati. Kikero. Bara," Cross whispered, his right index and middle finger glowing a light blue as he spoke.

Slowly bringing his own magic to clash with the spells bending Allen's arm, Cross could feel the foreign power invade his own and the magic crackled on his hand. The seals started to dissolve away at the edges, like simple paper in water. Klaud watched as Cross grimaced; it was taking longer than he'd hoped and using magic took its toll.

"Most people know you use magic...it's not exactly a secret," Klaud remarked, "They'd know especially...so why use a seal they knew full well you'd be able to break?" she furrowed her brow, still watching the seals slowly fade away.

"They wanted me to," Cross shrugged, "There's no other answer."

He gave a long, shaky breath once the last seal had gone and he was finally able to stop the magic flowing through his hand, "...Didn't make it easy though," Cross added.

"Maybe their plans are less obvious than we thought," she said but he only scoffed lightly at her. Klaud returned her attention to the ailing child with a heavy expression, "This could take a while," she said, staring at each wound in turn.

"I'll do it," Cross spoke suddenly, startling the woman.

"Huh?" she blinked, "You'll...dress someone's wounds...since when?" Klaud was surprised by his lack of disgust for such a 'filthy' task as tending to the wounded.

"Since about four years ago," Cross growled, "Now move."

"...Alright...alright..." she held up her hands in defeat, "...There's some things in my bag...let me boil you some water at least," she said with a frown. "We can't light a fire, it'd be like setting off a flare...I have something better," Klaud added, her voice trailing off as she rummaged through her bag.

"What's that?" Cross asked, watching her as she took out a canister filled with water and a small, silver device about the size of a large matchbox.

"It heats water without having to light a fire," she explained, "I found it in Germany a while back...I've been on the run before, you know...kind of..." she said at his surprised expression. Klaud then unscrewed the lid from the canister and dropped the device into it.

Leaving the water and some clean cloth for Cross to use, she returned to her back and took out a gun, and a holster which she wrapped round her right thigh, and a two small knifes which she concealed in her boots. She then walked to the door, "...I'll go...scout around..." Klaud said. She could feel the other Generals' eyes on her so she turned back and crossed her arms.

"Problem?" she raised an eyebrow.

"You have a gun," he grinned.

"Just in case," she answered simply, "I never rely on just the Innocence to protect me...there's worse things than akuma out there, you know," she said, turning to look at the still sleeping Lau Shimin. "And not all of us can use magic," Klaud added quietly.

"...Never would've took you for a gunslinger," Cross couldn't help but smile slightly as she shook her head, walking from the shed into the woodland. "She could've used those sooner...don't you think, Allen?" he said to the sleeping boy, not expecting an answer.

Timcanpy rested himself on Allen's head, making himself comfortable in the soft, white strands as Cross stared to peal away the tattered remains of the black cotton shirt that had gotten stuck in the boys' wounds. He then had to clean each one and bind it carefully, but it wasn't like he'd never done it before.

"M...master?" Allen muttered a while later, his voice hoarse.

"You owe me for this," Cross said emotionlessly, as he wrapped a bandage around Allen's right wrist, "You're gonna pay off whatever debt I make, starting now."

"...No...no more debt...please, master..." Allen croaked, his confusion forgotten, "I...hate that...that word..."

"Well, I hate the word 'work'."

"...How...why is that...my fault...why'd I get...debt?"

"That's your job; you're my apprentice," Cross explained, only noticing once he stopped speaking that Allen was sleeping again.

It didn't take him much longer after that to finish bandaging the last of the boy's injuries and when he was done, Cross leaned back against the wall and lit a cigarette. Knowing the Allen wasn't going to be much conversation, at least for a while, since the boy was asleep, Cross also took out Judgement and began polishing its silver surface with a scrap of the remaining cloth. It wasn't much of a task for the man because the weapon was already flawless to begin with and it wasn't long before he was letting out a deep sigh. He turned his head when the door creaked open and saw Klaud calmly stand there, holding it open.

"I'm going to contact Komui, come on," she said.

"It's fine, he's not waking up any time soon," Cross told her, glancing across at Allen for a second.

"All the same," Klaud replied sternly and he shrugged, then pushed himself up from the floor and followed her to stand outside the shed. As they walked several feet in the night air, Cross felt the cool breeze ruffle the cotton sleeves of his poets' shirt. "Komui? Are you there?" she tried her earpiece.

"...Generals..." Komui's voice came through on both her and Cross's receivers, "Well, did you find him! Is he safe?"

"He's alive," Klaud answered while Cross puffed out smoke.

"Thank god, everyone's been going out of their minds...so...how is he?"

"...He'll live," Cross said.

"How bad?" the Chief Officer asked.

"Bad enough," Klaud sighed and Komui's shaking breath sounded through their ears.

"...I wasn't expecting for you to have found him so soon though..." He managed to say.

"Yeah...about that," Klaud began, "It was no simple kidnapping. It was about the Fourteenth...and they wanted something else..."

"What?

"They wanted to know about Maria's Innocence, they practically let us walk in and outta there because they knew they could get what they wanted," Cross said, "I dunno why they suddenly want to know about it so badly now."

"You didn't say anything stupid at that Central meeting, did you?" Klaud asked sarcastically.

"Of course not," Cross growled, "They're the stupid ones."

"Obviously not...we may have just given them the key to destroying Innocence."

"They already had it, we were just the first tests...that we know of, anyway, I doubt they kept it to themselves and resisted the urge to try it out sooner, don't you?"

"I suppose so," she shrugged.

"At least he's alright," Komui said.

"Well, he's alive, but he's far from alright," Klaud corrected, "Some of these injuries will take months to heal, and his left arm won't be able to activate for a while; those seals they used were barbaric. The effect probably wouldn't be as dramatic on an equipment host."

"He seems to have the worst luck," the Chief Officer remarked and Cross 'humphed.' "Where will you go?" the man asked them.

"Abroad," Cross said simply.

"We should probably keep communications to a minimum, you can always send messages to me through your golem if you have to," Komui spoke, "I expect things'll only get worse. I'll do what I can to protect people on my end, you just worry about keeping ahead of them."

"I think that's a given; we're traitors, you know," Cross smirked.

"...And unfortunately, I don't think that's going to change for a long time," the Chief Officer sighed, "It could be years..."

"I know that," Cross shrugged, "What I don't get is why you came along too," he said, facing Klaud, "You don't have any responsibility to that brat at all, and I don't buy all that 'Generals protect their own' crap."

"You wouldn't," Klaud rolled her eyes.

"Funny," the man scowled.

"Anyway..." Komui interrupted them, "I don't expect Rouvelier will be easy to shake off once he starts after you."

"He got what he wanted...for now we're safe..." Cross said.

"Until they want something else again," Klaud finished.

"I'll let you know if I hear anything," Komui said, "You'll do the same?"

"If it's important," Klaud told him and their earpieces switched off.

"Now you can explain why you're really here," Cross said to her suddenly.

"I have my reasons...you'd only laugh," she replied.

"I won't."

"You will..." Klaud insisted, staring at him, "Alright, look," she sighed, "I know we're supposed to just deal with whatever our superiors throw at us...but sometimes they can go too far...all they care about is winning the war, they don't ever stop to think about the people dying so that they can win it...We've known each other for years and all you've ever been is a useless waste of space, and as much as I dislike useless men, you're not useless to him...and he's not useless to you. I don't know everything about him, but I know what it's like to loose your team."

"He's hardly my..."

"He could be, when he's stronger. You care about him, don't try and lie to me..." she said, "Anyway...that's why...now don't ask me to explain it again," she crossed her arms stubbornly.

"...You're a good woman, Klaud," Cross told her after a minute.

"Don't start with me again, Cross. Your stupid charm doesn't work on me."

"I wasn't! Why d'you always assume everything I say is just to..."

"Because it is," she scowled and he scoffed gruffly, "Hey...have you ever wondered...if we'd all been as strong as him when we'd been his age...can you imagine how strong we'd be now?"

"Scary thought, hmm?" Cross muttered, dropping his finished cigarette on the ground and squashing it with the toe of his right boot.

"You've thought about it too?" she whispered and he nodded once, "Maybe...he scares them."

"In more ways than one," the man said ominously.

"More secrets you won't tell me?" Klaud gave a smile, "It's fine, I don't need to know; you didn't make me come with you after all."

"Just remember you admitted that when things get tough," he smirked.

"Don't worry, I'm a tough woman."

"Not just in personality, I hope," Cross replied, staring at her from under his long, red hair.

"And what exactly is that supposed to mean?" she demanded, balling her fists.

"Whatever you want it to mean, pretty lady."

"Heh...useless man," she scowled, walking back to the shed, listening to Cross chuckle behind her.


	5. Dogs that Bite their Masters' Hands

** Chapter 4: _Dogs that Bite their Masters' Hands._**

* * *

As the day passed, Lenalee underwent rigorous tests of her new 'crystal' Innocence at Rouvelier's orders and Komui could only watch on as his beloved sister was analysed like a lab rat for the upper echelons of the Order. They wanted to know just how much more power the new type of Innocence had over the traditional, and if it was more powerful...could more exorcists develop it? He despised the men in charge of the Order and the Vatican for treating people as tools and later, he decided to at least do his bit to undermine them

Komui gathered Generals Tiedoll and Socalo to speak in his office, hoping that Leverrier wouldn't get wind of it before he could say his peace. He knew he at least needed to tell them that their fellow Generals had been banished because they'd dared to help Allen, rather than let them rely on rumours and propaganda that would no doubt soon be spread by the Vatican.

"You've probably heard...Generals Cross Marian and Klaud Nyne are traitors, I..." he began but was swiftly interrupted.

"They can't just...disown two long serving Generals," Tiedoll frowned, "Generals aren't easy to come by, it takes years on end for them to find even a single person with the potential!"

"Well, they have disowned them...Allen too," Komui told him.

"Those fools, what did they do that was so stupid?" Socalo growled.

"They went after Allen Walker after he was kidnapped," Komui told them.

"Why bother, he's just a kid, a kid with some clout, but still just a kid," the brash General replied with arrogance.

"You're not at all curious about why they took Cross's apprentice in the first place?" the other General asked his collegue.

"Nope," the man answered, "I'm a selfish man, I don't care about the trouble other people get themselves into."

"You're a cruel man, Socalo," Tiedoll shook his head, "Cross is arguably the most powerful of us; he is an asset to the Order..."

"Don't care," Socalo snubbed, "Don't even know why you wanted to tell me about this in the first place. I'm off," he finished, standing up and leaving them.

"He's useless," Tiedoll sighed, "Even more useless than Cross."

"General Cross sacrificed his reputation and risked his life for Allen Walker without a second thought," Komui said, "...I think that deserves some merit, don't you?"

"...You're right," the General agreed, "I just never imaged him doing something so...selfless...but then I never pictured him taking an apprentice either...I guess the kid had to be some thing special to make him do it."

"Allen-kun is...a very special person," Komui nodded.

"I understand why you didn't tell us sooner..." the other man said, "Things are just so..."

"Messed up," the Supervisor whispered, "I know."

"So...Klaud went with him...I wonder what was going through her head."

"...She...lost her entire team...she cares," Komui said.

"Mmm," Tiedoll breathed, "...As Generals we get told not to care...not to care about Finders, or Exorcists or anyone else because they're easily replaceable...but it's not so easy...unless you're name's Cross or Socalo...no...maybe just Socalo," he gave a single, rueful chuckle. "Who'd have thought it? Cross Marian cares about what happens to one kid."

"Surprising, isn't it?"

"Hmmm," the General gave a small nod, "I've had several apprentices and I care about each one...I don't want to put them in dangerous situations, but if you have Innocence it's not like you have a choice. I choose to teach them because I want to keep them safe...but he swore he'd never train anyone..."

"Can you tell me something?"

"What?"

"How many people know about General Cross's use of forbidden magic...on Maria?" Komui asked slowly.

"...It's...not something he goes blabbing about...even if people see him using her abilities they don't see anything unusual because most people don't understand Innocence or magic...so...very few. Why?"

"General Cross told me that the people who took Allen wanted to know about it..."

"You're in contact with them?" Tiedoll exclaimed.

"I gave them...some of my improved transmitters...I'm not going to make a habit of it; it'd put them at risk."

"You're more sneaky than we give you credit for, Supervisor Komui," the other man said over the rims of his thick glasses.

"Never underestimate your friendly Branch Supervisor," Komui replied, pushing up his own glasses with a smile.

"I won't again."

"Cross and Klaud...Allen...traitors...does the Vatican really want to win the war or not?" the Supervisor sighed a minute later, "How much worse will things get, d'you think?" he asked, unsurprisingly he got no answer.

* * *

Allen Walker slept on and on, and in so doing, he dreamed. He dreamt he was walking in an endless field of snow, staring constantly at a figure walking ahead of him in the distance. It was a man wearing a tattered top hat and a battered tail coat that the boy vaguely recognised. He desperately tried to reach the man but no matter how fast he ran he didn't seem to make any progress.

Once he gathered enough courage he stopped walking and called out, "Mana!" as loudly as he dared in the boundless field.

The man stopped walking, suddenly and Allen's breathing quickened. He slowly took a step forwards but the man did the same. He stopped again, and the man did so too. "...Mana...is that you?" the boy asked, "It's me...Allen..." he said.

"...Allen...Walker..." a voice whispered, "Allen...Allen...my...my will...my...my tool..." it said, confusing the boy.

"Mana...what are you...what does that mean?"

"Allen...Allen...Walker..."

"Yes...it's me...what is it?"

"My...my will...my...successor..."

"What?" Allen frowned, "...'Successor'...what do you mean?" he asked.

Suddenly, the slim figure, wearing the tattered clothes seemed to morph into a rounder silhouette and it started to turn around. Allen couldn't breathe and for a second he caught a glimpse of a shadowed face with hungry eyes and a wide smile before his heart rate went through the roof and his eyes opened wide.

* * *

He sat bolt upright, breathing heavily, one hand clutched at his cursed eye as he tried desperately to make sense of his strange, disturbing dream.

"Bad dreams?" a kind voice asked and he turned his eyes to see General Klaud looking at him with pity. She was sitting in the corner, petting the small Lau Shimin who made an almost contented purring sound in its sleep.

He couldn't think of anything to say since it was pointless to lie when she'd seen his sudden awakening, so instead he slowly took in his surroundings. The small wooden structure was unfamiliar to him though he vaguely recalled a brief conversation with his master, but he couldn't grasp the details in his clouded mind.

"Where...where are we?" Allen winced, breathing deeply and quickly.

"About thirty miles out of London," she answered.

"M...master...where's master?" he asked, noticing the throb of his wounds as his breathing began to calm.

"Outside, smoking," Klaud said, gesturing to the weak looking door, "I was tired of him trying to recreate a smog in here."

"...You...you...you saved me..." Allen stammered and looked down at his bandage covered torso and arms, "Did you..." he said, raising his right arm and staring at the carefully wrapped cloth on his wrist.

"No," she shook her head, "He did...he wouldn't let me."

"Master...did?"

"Mmm," Klaud murmured, standing up. She walked over to Allen and handed him a flask, "You've been asleep for hours, you must be thirsty," she said as he took it with his right hand and drank from it.

"What's wrong with my arm?" Allen asked after he lowered the flask. He slowly flexed the fingers of his left arm, noticing that the movement seemed delayed, "It's...numb..."

"Don't you remember? It was bound with magic..."

"Yeah...I couldn't activate my Innocence..." Allen said sadly, "It hurt," he muttered, clutching his left arm.

"We didn't stop until we got far enough from the city...so it was there for longer than we would've liked. We just wanted to make sure we were safe," Klaud explained.

"Why...why did they...why was I..."

"That's something you'll have to ask Cross," the General said, stopping him before he could say anything further. "I don't know why they did what they did...but he does, I think," she added just as Allen's stomach let out a loud grumble. "We'll have to stop at the next town..there's not much food," Klaud told him reluctantly, as he took the flask from him, swapping it for half a loaf of bread.

"T...thank you," Allen said, before eating it quickly. It was gone in seconds and he was still hungry but he wasn't about to complain.

He gently touched the wounds on his torso, learning that each one had been cleaned and bandaged, and there was no blood on him anymore. It must have taken his master hours. Now, as fully awake as he could be for the time being, Allen noticed that he was wearing one his his master's elaborate poet shirts, his own trousers mostly undamaged but cleaned and his boots had been placed against the wall.

"Oh, look who's finally awake," Cross smirked, opening the door.

"Hmm," Allen muttered.

"Well, it's a good thing, I was all for dragging you behind the horse and moving on, but since you're awake I guess I can't do that," the man sighed dramatically. "I guess you'll just have to ride up front then...shame...I always wondered what'd happen if a person was being dragged around by a horse."

"Cross," Klaud rolled her eyes hopelessly and Timcanpy seemed to deflate on his masters' head.

Allen stared in confusion and anger; was this the man who'd saved his life and took are of him? This irritating, annoying man? There was no doubt about it, this was indeed his master, whose mood swings seemed completely bipolar. "It's him, it's definitely him," Allen whispered to himself, shaking his head.

"Huh? What?" Cross drawled, closing the door behind him.

"Master...if you really want to know that I suggest you try it yourself," Allen ground between his teeth.

"Then who'd steer the horse, idiot?!"

"What do I care?!" Allen yelled, "Why would you even want to do that? What kind of idiot..." he said his voice breaking off as he tried to get up. He fell back down onto the floor, clutching the fabric of his master's cloak that he was lying on, and his other hand around his aching chest. "Ouch..." he muttered.

"If you reopen those wounds, you're the one who's gonna patch 'em up again," Cross said kneeling beside his apprentice.

"...How would I do...that..." Allen hissed.

"Search me," the man shrugged, "So don't move so quickly, idiot," he said, gently flicking his gloved index finger and thumb against the boy's forehead. "And...don't try and use your left arm for a while, I'll bet it still feels weird, right?"

"Mmm," the boy nodded.

"Probably be back to normal in a few days...hopefully we'll be outta the country by then," Cross added quietly to himself.

"How'd...how'd we get away?" Allen asked uncertainly. He remembered the large number of guards and Assassins there'd been in the Tower but he couldn't seem to remember how they got out.

"Did you forget who I am?" Cross frowned, "There's no Assassination squad in the world good enough to stop me."

"And...what...what're we going to do now?" his apprentice frowned, "Where are we supposed to go, master?"

"To Europe."

"How are we going to get there?" Allen asked his master, still clutching his throbbing left arm.

"Easy," Cross shrugged, "We hop on a ship."

"Is it wise to take that risk?" Klaud furrowed her brow.

"Would you rather stay here?" the General replied, "Besides, I know someone in Dover...get us as far as Calais...she owes me a favour."

"I'm almost afraid to ask..." Allen muttered.

"It's probably best not to," Klaud agreed with him and the man scoffed, "But Dover is over fifty miles away, if we ride none stop it'll still take days to get there. I don't like the idea of being a sitting duck for days on end."

"You better get used to it," Cross said, "Everywhere may as well be enemy territory with them on to us. So, I suggest you brush up on your French," he said to Allen.

"Why? You speak French," the boy moaned but Cross just 'humphed.'

Allen wrapped his arms round himself, he was starting to feel the evening chill set in and set the hairs on the back of his neck on end. "Master...why did they want to know about Maria?" he asked weakly, trying to distract himself from shivering.

"They're idiots," Cross shrugged simply.

"Then...why did they keep asking me about...the Fourteenth...who is that?"

"...No one," the man answered quickly.

"Master..."

"Stop asking questions; it's not important!" he yelled and Allen leaned back in shock.

"...A...alright..." the boy stammered. He didn't have the energy for a full blown argument with his master, and he didn't want to make the man mad, after all, Cross had saved his life.

Cross sighed at the downtrodden look on his apprentice' face and he could ignore the boy's shivering no longer. He raised his cigarette to his mouth and held it between his teeth while he shrugged off his coat, which he then tossed to Allen.

"...Sorry..." the man muttered and Allen blinked.

"...You're...huh?" the boy breathed, clutching his master's coat.

"Don't ask me to say it again," Cross growled, bowing his head so that his eye was hidden behind long, red strands of hair.

"...O...okay..." Allen gave a weak nod and Cross let out a satisfied grunt.

He knew he'd have to tell Allen about it all at some point, but the truth was, Cross didn't want to think about it. He didn't want to dwell on the fact that his apprentice, his first and only apprentice, had more than likely been nothing more than a means to an end for Mana. If he had the chance, the General would've liked to beat the man senseless for choosing a child for such a fate...for choosing Allen.

"I'll tell you...just...not yet," the man sighed.

"But..."

"I said, not yet," Cross repeated.

"...Why?"

"Because I said so."

"Ah..." Allen sighed, "Mmm," he nodded simply, not wanting to make his master loose his temper again. "...Master...thank you," the boy blurted, "Thank you...for coming after me...I...I know you didn't have to... "

"Idiot," the man scoffed, "Of course I had to, you're the only one who actually pays off my debts!"

Allen blinked in confusion for a second and then he met his masters' one eyed gaze, "I guess I do..." he said, giving a sad smile.

"Next time some bastards try and kidnap you, give 'em a proper fight and we won't get into this mess again," Cross replied brusquely.

"I didn't have a chance," Allen frowned.

"That's no excuse," Cross growled, "...I'm gonna have to start training you again."

"Eh?"

"Whatever it takes, you're gonna be able to smell a sneak attack a mile away," the General smirked and Allen began to look worried.

"...'Whatever it takes'," the boy repeated, "...What exactly..."

"Just wait and see, kid," the man grinned while Allen only gave a long suffering sigh.

* * *

"Inquisitor Marcus, I trust for your sake, you have good news," Rouvelier said, sitting in his office on the telephone in the Order's temporary HQ.

"We discovered that it is much more susceptible to our spells than any other form of Innocence; most likely because her life force is gone and she is kept alive only through her Innocence and the forbidden magic," the Inquisitor explained.

"Are we any closer to being able to completely negate the effects of Cross's magic?"

"Well, sir, the General is a skilled sorcerer, it will take some time to analyse the data we have...but, sir...might I ask...why now? We've known about General Cross's power for years, why is it imperative to study it now?"

"Inquisitor, you may not ask," Rouvelier growled, "Just do your job."

"Apologies, sir."

"Cross will no doubt flee the country," Rouvelier said, "But it's of no matter, once we know more we will be ready."

"Yes, sir."

"Have there been anymore developments about the Ark?"

"No, sir, not one," Inquisitor Marcus answered, "We are unable to decode the musical key and we have no idea how to control it. Sir, should we not attempt to destroy it while we have access to it, if the Earl regains it, then..."

"It could be of great use to us in winning this war, we not destroy it if we have no other choice. We know that Allen Walker will become the Fourteenth, and no doubt he will join the Earl. We know that Cross kept this from us for years. I don't want to find out that he's been keeping anymore secrets from us. I need to know everything there is to know about the Ark - including a way to destroy it if we must."

"Yes, sir."

"Let them flee for a while, we don't need them yet," Rouvelier smirked, "Cross knows what will become of the boy, and he's made a rod for his own back by trying to save him...it's the perfect way to be rid of them both. The Vatican doesn't need dogs that bite their masters' hands...it's dangerous," he said cryptically.

* * *

Allen stared in turn at each corner of the single roomed structure and his drooping eyes landed on one of two broken windows. He could see a murky reflection in one of the shards; it was the same bulky figure he'd seen in the hidden piano room on the Ark, and it smiled at him like it always did - like it had in his dream.

As the boy stared into the pupil-less eyes of the reflection, Cross gazed surreptitiously at him. He knew that because Allen had the Fourteenth's will, he would be able to open up gates from one place to another at will with ease, but he didn't want the boy to use the memories unless he had to. He didn't want Allen to be consumed by them so, they'd take the more difficult route and travel by mortal means. Besides, if he was correct - which he knew he was - then Rouvelier and his men wouldn't be after them yet. Not until they'd had a chance to analyse what they'd found out, and launch their real attack.

It seemed impossible for the man to get the image of his apprentice, chained and bloody, from his mind. As a General he'd seen many terrible things, and he found it irritating that this one thing stood out so much.

"It's getting dark," he said gruffly, shaking his thoughts away and pushing himself up from the floor of the cabin. "We're leaving," he added.

Allen had been fighting sleep for hours, but Cross knew it was best for them to leave as soon as they could and it would be smart to do so when it was dark; boy would have to sleep on a galloping horse. Hopefully, when he regained some of his strength, they would find him a third horse to save Cross' from carrying the weight of two people.

"Maybe it'd be best to let the boy rest a while longer," Klaud said to him quietly.

"He can rest when he's dead, for now we worry about living," Cross told her sternly.

"...I'm fine..." Allen said, blinking away the reflection and turning to face them, "Master's right...I don't need anymore rest..." he muttered, standing up slowly, using the wall for support, mindful of his wounds. He held out his masters' coat and the man took it back without a word, swinging it on and fastening it quickly.

Allen then picked up the cloak he'd been lying on and proceeded to give it back to Cross as well. His master stared at it in his bandaged right hand for a moment before taking it and clasping it round his apprentice's shoulders.

"Keep it...its cold," the man explained at Allen's look of bewilderment. Like the expensive and elaborate shirt of his masters that he was wearing, the cloak was also too big for him; it made him remember the times he'd worn Mana's clothes most winters when they couldn't afford to buy him any his own size.

Cross didn't meet Allen's eyes as he carefully smoothed out the fabric so that the two sides of the cloak met in the middle, "...Erm...get your boots on," he said somewhat awkwardly, taking a step back and turning to leave the shed.

Klaud, who had kept as quiet as she could during this exchange couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy; all of her team and apprentices were gone and yet here was Cross, a man who swore he'd never take on the burden of an apprentice only just starting to admit, possibly to himself, that he actually cared.

She watched as the boy fingered the cloak delicately, staring after his master almost in shock. After a while, Allen shook his head and slowly stumbled across to his boots, mindful of the extra length of the cloak as he moved. It was hard enough for the boy to put the boots on but the laces proved difficult with his numb left arm and he let out a frustrated sigh.

Timcanpy tried to tie the laces with his tail but it just made things more difficult for the boy and Klaud gave a kind smile, "Want some help?" Klaud asked delicately, "You know how impatient he is," she gestured to the door while moving towards the boy.

"...Thank you," Allen sighed as she made quick work of the laces he'd struggled with, "...For...for everything...I..."

"There," she smiled, cutting him off and patting his boots, "We'd best be off," Klaud added calmly, picking up her bag as though they were going off on a day trip.

"Mmm," he nodded and she helped him walk outside.

Cross was standing with his own small bag slung over his shoulder, his hands holding the reigns of both the brown horses and he wordlessly helped Allen into the saddle before climbing up himself.

"You may as well sleep...if you can..." he said to the boy as he nudged the horse into a trot, "This is gonna be a long few days," he added heavily.


	6. Akuma on the Horizon

**Chapter 5: _Akuma on the Horizon_**

* * *

In a room illuminated by a large, crackling fire, the sun was rising behind the thick curtains closed against the huge, mullioned windows. The temporary Black Order Headquarters was generally quiet in mornings, save for a small group of people.

Their heads trailed back and forth, left and right, after Lenalee as she stalked the length of the room, shaking her hands nervously. Reever and Johnny had long since given up on teaching Krory to play poker, Miranda had been trying to repair an old carriage clock but she was too worried to keep her hands steady, while everyone else hadn't even attempted to try and distract themselves.

"Lenalee, please stop pacing," Lavi groaned, "You're making me dizzy!"

"How can you be so calm?!" the young exorcist snapped, "I need to do something..."

"There's nothing we can do," Lavi told her.

"Well, I'm not going to stay here and do nothing," Lenalee shook her head, "I know I said I would, but I..."

"What about what General Cross told us?" Miranda frowned, "He sounded serious."

"And we'd only get in his way," Lavi sighed, "...Remember how strong he is," he added quietly.

"I know, but..."

"We all care about Allen..." the junior Bookman said, "...You think I don't wanna help him? You think I didn't want to run after the jerks who took him?!"

"...I..." Lenalee deflated.

"...But we don't even know where he is," Lavi said.

"...General Cross does..."

"He's probably with Allen...wherever that is."

"I know, it's just..."

"We all feel the same," Miranda said, sitting beside Lenalee, "I want to help Allen-kun as well, after everything we've been through...but I can't..." she smiled sadly.

"Miranda," Lenalee breathed.

"So I'm just going to do what I can here, if Inspector Rouvelier really did kidnap Allen, we need to keep an eye on him, right?"

"Isn't it more like he's keeping an eye on us?" Lavi scratched his head and Lenalee sighed in frustration.

* * *

The Generals rode on, early into the morning and luckily for them they only had to contend with a cold, dry night rather than a cold and wet one. Allen would almost certainly have caught a cold from being out in the rain and that wasn't setting Cross wanted to contend with as well as the boy's wounds.

Allen had been drifting in and out of consciousness all night, and when he had been awake he'd been quiet and listless, no matter how much Cross goaded him, trying to get him to respond, Allen had said almost nothing. He just stared off into the distance, making his master's concern, and frustration increase.

However, Allen wasn't ignoring his master simply to annoy him, no matter how much the thought appealed to him, rather he was more concerned about not losing his staring match with the bulky figure that seemed to follow him in both his dreams and his waking hours. He was terrified about what would happen if he lost their little 'game'; even when he lost consciousness the staring continued, and he didn't even notice when morning came, or when they approached a distant town. Those eyes, soulless and pupil-less were haunting and Allen could get no respite from them, he was sure it was going to drive him mad.

"...to get another horse..." he could hear his master speaking. It was like listening to the man's deep from a long tunnel; it echoed and the sound was distorted.

Allen shook his head, trying valiantly to get rid of the ghost that was haunting him, and he let out a shaky breath when it vanished like smoke.

"He's really not up to riding on his own yet," Klaud said to Cross.

"Well, we'll keep an eye on him," Cross shrugged, "The next town's not for miles and I don't want this horse carrying two of us any more."

"Then he can ride with me for a while, or, if you don't trust me, we'll swap horses."

Allen, not having had some time to process what they were saying, tried to straighten his back, wincing. "I don't mind...I can ride..." he said, falling back against his master.

"No, you can't," Klaud said, dismounting her horse, "I'm surprised you're awake at all, to be honest," she shook her head.

"He's stubborn," Cross rolled his eyes.

"Stubbornness is all well and good, but you won't heal any faster by pushing yourself," she scolded the boy lightly. "So, you can stay here while I sneak into town; you definitely won't get any better if you don't eat."

Allen furrowed his brow, suddenly remembering that he'd hardly eaten in days; the Assassins in the Tower hadn't been too bothered about keeping regular meal times, and even when they had the food had been quite nauseating.

Cross elegantly jumped down from the tired horse and started to lead the animal, by the reigns towards a large tree. After loosely wrapping the reigns around a branch, he lifted Allen from the horse and let him sit against the tree for support.

"I'll go," he said, turning to face Klaud.

"No, I will; I am a little less conspicuous than you," she replied, staring at the man's long red hair and white mask. "I planned for this," she told him, getting down from her own horse. "A woman with a half scarred face is pretty memorable, but without it no one will remember me," she said, taking out a compact from her bag and starting to cover her face with tinted powder.

"What haven't you planned for?" Cross scoffed, "Anyway, I doubt anyone'll be fooled by something so simple."

"Sometimes the simplest things are usually the best, and I doubt anyone will specifically know us, or even be looking for us there."

"You'd bet your life on that, would you?" he raised an eyebrow.

"In lieu of any other plan, yes, I'll have to," Klaud shrugged, "We need food and another horse if I can get one. If Allen can't ride it, it can at least carry our bags."

"It'll slow us down if we're not riding it."

"The other two need rest anyway, and if we try and trade them for new ones, we **will** attract some attention," she replied quickly.

"You've got an answer for everything," the man sighed.

"Of course I do," she gave him a smile, her scar now almost invisible, "I won't be long, hopefully," she added, tethering her horse. Lau Shimin hid himself in her cloak and then, she walked off towards the town.

Cross watched her leave for a second before watching Tim flap around his head, he glanced from the corner of his eye, at his apprentice leaning against the tree, unmoving.

Allen was fairly happy now that the ghost - as he chose to dub it for want of a better explanation, had gone. Even the pain of his injuries, irritated by long hours of travel, and the tingling sensation of his left arm, didn't bother him as much as he thought they would. He raised his arm up to stare at his fingers in the day light, and still, the limb was slow to respond. It made him feel weak and useless, completely dependant on his master and General Klaud, both of whom were stronger than him even when he could use his Innocence, but at least then he could defend himself fairly well.

He knew his master already saw him as a burden, and he didn't want to be a burden to General Cross. Despite all of their differences, despite the man's temperament and even despite all of the debts, there wasn't a person that Allen respected more than General Cross and in his mind, it was because of one very simple reason; Mana Walker and General Cross Marian had been the only two people that had taken on the burden of a penniless orphan who had nothing to give in return.

Allen stared at his hand for another moment before letting out a rueful scoff at the thought, and he leaned his head back against the tree with his eyes closed. Before he could start to relax though, he heard a low chuckling, a faceless voice that Allen was sure belonged to the ghost. His eyes snapped open and he looked frantically for the source, but it wasn't anywhere to be seen.

"Seeing things?" Cross murmured delicately from where he stood, not far from the boy.

"No," Allen protested quickly.

"Hmm," the man breathed.

"Erm...h...how much further?" Allen asked, shaking away the voice from his mind.

"Before we completely tire the horses out?" Cross raised an eyebrow.

"Before we get to Dover?" the boy corrected, "How do you even know if we're going the right way?"

"When have I ever got us lost before?" the General scoffed.

"Well...there was that one time...in Scotland..." Allen said, breaking off to cough.

"That wasn't my fault," the man crossed his arms.

"Then who's fault was it?" Allen grumbled, not expecting an answer. He turned away from his master, who was still emanating waves of mild irritation at his back chat, to focus instead on the leaves of a nearby bush. He was tired, cranky and confused, not to mention he missed his friends back at the Order, and none of that helped Allen remembering his manners.

"...Hey," Cross said, breaking Allen's study of the flora.

"What?" the boy asked, turning to face his master once more. What he saw was surprising. Allen was sure that since Cross first met him, the man had deliberately withheld any affectionate gesture, any praise, or pity, or joy...the list went on, but he saw them all in that instant. Even though he could only ever see - like the rest of the world, one half of his master's face.

It reminded him of the glances people would give him when they learned he had parasitic Innocence. For those who knew what become of such hosts didn't tend to withhold their pity, and once Allen had learned about this, he understood it.

"If you were...seeing things...would you tell me?" Cross asked him, and Allen found himself at a loss for words.

"...I...I'm not seeing things...really..." the boy stuttered nervously. While more than half his mind was screaming at him to tell Cross what he was seeing, the other part didn't want to labour his master with any more trouble. Hadn't the man done enough for him already? He knew that his master had said he would explain something to him, something concerning a person called the Fourteenth, but since he didn't even know how it related to him be didn't know what questions to ask.

"You're sure?" the General scowled.

"I'm sure," Allen said quickly, "I..." he broke off when the ghost appeared behind his master. His eyes went wide and his breathing hitched as the figure smiled at him again. "...It's...it's...nothing...there's nothing...really..." the boy said between deep breaths.

"Because that really convincing," Cross said quietly, and Allen was too distracted to notice it.

"...I..." Allen gaped at the ghost, his mind too distracted to form a proper sentence. He watched as the ghost put his index finger to its smiling lips and seemed to move closer and closer to General Cross. Allen dared to move his gaze from the ghost to his master, who was oblivious to the figure that the boy feared. He shook his head, trying to deter the ghost from possibly harming his master and then he started to hear the music in his head. He could hear and distinguish each music note and the lyrics came to his mind with ease.

He couldn't let his master see, he just couldn't, but he couldn't stop staring at the ghost.

"What are you looking at?" Cross murmured quietly, setting himself down on his haunches in front of Allen.

"...Erm...I...I just..."

Like Allen, Cross was torn between two choices; to tell his apprentice the truth or to continue keeping it from him. Was it cruel or kind of him to want to hide the truth just that little bit longer? He couldn't tell the boy now though; Allen was recovering from his wounds, he'd just been tortured by a group of deadly assassins, and was having to come to terms with being a 'fugitive.' It wouldn't be fair of him to add yet another, even more disturbing truth.

"Look at me," Cross said, taking Allen's shoulders in a firm grip, "Look at me!" he repeated firmly, shocking the boy into doing as he said.

"...Wha..."

On seeing the frantic, almost manic eyes of his apprentice, the General released the deep breath he hadn't realised he'd been holding and silently cursed Mana and Nea to the deepest, darkest depths of hell for ruining this child's life.

"It won't stop," Allen whispered, unable to stop himself, "Why won't it leave me alone? Why can't anyone else see it? Why..."

"Oi!" Cross yelled, startling the boy again, "Calm down," he ordered.

"...But...but I..."

"Don't let him win," Cross ordered him.

"...What...how do...you know it's...?" Allen blinked.

"Yeah," he sighed, "I know."

"What...what is it? Tell me...please..."

The General took a slow intake of breath and ignored the desire to look away from his apprentice. He knew he owed Allen the truth, he just didn't want to be the one to have the see the look in the boy's eyes when he learned it. Cross knew he couldn't put it off forever, and the sense of powerlessness wasn't something he wanted to feel. As a strong General being so humbled wasn't something he appreciated.

"...Dover...when we get to Dover, when we're on the ship...I'll tell you," Cross managed to say slowly.

Allen was more than a little confused when he heard this, he didn't understand why his master was so blatantly keeping things from him. "Is it something to do with the Fourteenth? Is that why they kept asking me about it? Why would they think I'd know anything?"

"...That's a long story, kid," the man replied, "For now you just worry about getting to Dover in one piece...if you do that...then...then I'll tell you."

"But I..."

"Enough," Cross scowled, "I said I'd tell you, and I will...Though, I think you've got enough to be thinking about right now," he said, "...Should probably take a look at those wounds."

"I'm fine," Allen replied stubbornly.

"Do you want 'em to get infected?" the man asked harshly and Allen just turned away. Cross cursed under his breath, "I didn't go through all the trouble to save you only to have you die from a stupid infection," he told the boy.

"It's not infected," Allen muttered.

"How would you know?"

"...It's just not," the boy scowled back.

"Stop being so damn stubborn!"

"If you stop hiding things from me."

"Gah, you're so annoying!"

"You'd know...master," Allen muttered, not missing the pulsating vein of anger on his master's forehead.

While Cross found it both a relief and a source of entertainment that Allen was acting more like his old self - before he began to mimic Mana Walker, at this point in time he did not want any back chat from the boy. It only made his choice more and more difficult, because the more Allen acted like himself, the more he got his life back, only for Cross to have to take it from him again once he told the boy the truth.

"That's enough," Cross growled, "Just do what I say," he said and luckily for him, Allen relented, allowing his master to check his wounds.

* * *

The high ranking Vatican officers, dressed in their gold finery, sat on either side of the High General who sat at the head of the table. He wore his greatly decorated cloak and cowl concealing his face as he listened to the reports of the Officers, Inspectors and Inquisitors.

"...What it all comes down to is this," one of the Inspectors said, "Rouvelier has cost the Order two of its Generals, he acted on his own to discredit General Cross."

"But General Cross made his own decision to take back his apprentice," one of the others replied, "Charges of treason had been mentioned, and despite this, the General chose his apprentice over his duty to the order. He has proven that he is capable of withholding information for years, more specifically, information regarding the Fourteenth."

"Allen Walker's connection to the Fourteenth begins with Mana Walker, the brother of Nea, the Ark's Musician, also known as the Fourteenth," a higher ranking Inspector recited. "It is still unclear how the Will of the Fourteenth has manifested itself in Allen Walker's consciousness, but it is the reason why General Cross took the boy as an apprentice."

"The General hid him for three years, and in so doing, sheltered the boy from all suspicions and connections to the Noah. If I may speak plainly, I believe that General Cross has committed the sins worthy of treason, rather than his apprentice...as yet, at least," another man said.

"Yes," the High General spoke, and all went quiet, "However, we are now free of both burdens, and whether the boy is lost to the Noah is out of our hands. The Fourteenth was a traitor to the Earl, it's likely that should he find the boy he will kill him. Leverrier is a loose cannon," the High General said, "But he has proven to be useful."

"Sir, isn't this a risk? What if the Earl wants the boy to be taken over by the Noah to rejoin the Clan?" one of the otters asked, concerned.

"We gained valuable information on the weakness of Innocence," a woman spoke up, "Allen Walker's left arm is composed of parasitic Innocence, it will remain so even if he is completely devoured by the Will, in other words, he will still be vulnerable to anti-Innocence spells. We have ways of destroying him should it become necessary."

* * *

General Klaud moved quickly through the town, mostly ignored as just another passer by, and since, as a trading town, the people here were well used to seeing. It didn't take her long to buy as much food as she could carry, from several places so she didn't attract questions from buying a lot of food from one place. She was also concerned about being followed, and she didn't take a single step without great caution.

When she finally was able to acquire a strong, healthy horse she rode from the town, back into the woodland, written off as an unimportant traveler. Unlike Cross she didn't mind the thought of being so humbled, in fact it was a rather nice change to adopt such an image, if only for a short time, but she knew the façade couldn't last.

It was Lau Shimin's quiet purring sounds that brought her back to herself, giving the simian a half hearted smile and it didn't take long for her to catch sight of Cross and his apprentice. They were both silent which surprised her greatly. Cross himself was stroking the muzzle of one of the other horses and Allen was staring off into space, seemingly avoiding even looking in his master's direction.

"Here, you take this one," she said, dismounting the new horse and handing the reigns to Cross, "It'll be able to carry the both of you for a while." She then took the bag of food and handed it to the boy, "I'll bet you're hungry; I've heard about your appetite," she smiled, walking towards the horses. "Oh, I got you something as well," Klaud paused and turned back, "They're not the best, but they're the only ones I could find," she said, tossing him a deck of playing cards. "You like cards, right? You can practice with your left hand again," the woman explained with a smile.

"How'd you know?" Allen asked her, examining the cards almost reverently. It seemed like years since he last played cards.

"Lucky guess," she shrugged, sparing a glance at Cross, who remained silent.

"Thank you," he replied quickly and his master moved to help him into the saddle of the new horse. Cross swung himself up a second later, just as Allen's eyes twitched and the the cursed gears over his left eye suddenly whirred to life.

"What?" Cross demanded.

"Akuma," the boy answered, "Headed towards the town."

"How many?"

"A dozen...maybe a few more."

"You can tell from this distance?" Klaud said, surprised.

"They're Level Three's," Allen said.

"All of them?" Cross asked.

"I think so."

"You think the Earl sent them after us?" she breathed, glancing at Cross.

"Why would he?" Allen asked.

Of course, Cross knew very well, he'd just hoped that Nea's secret had gone unnoticed by the Earl...perhaps it hadn't. Perhaps the Earl knew just who the Fourteenth had left as his successor and now the Earl wanted to kill Allen to prevent another Noah massacre. If he hadn't already known, he probably would after the stunt Rouvelier had pulled.

"Doesn't matter," Cross said, "Let's get outta here."

"What? No! We have to stop the akuma!" Allen protested.

"And send off a flare to tell the Earl where we are? Don't be stupid," the man said, tugging on the reigns of the horse.

"But..."

"No 'buts'," Cross growled, angry at himself. He was a General; an exorcist. Would he really abandon a town to a horde of akuma for his apprentice? Yes, yes he would, Cross knew he would. But would he be able to live with it? Contrary to popular opinion, he did have a conscience, and it was his sworn duty to destroy akuma, a duty he didn't take lightly. But neither did he want to condemn Allen to death, and in revealing their location to the Order and to the Earl would be doing just that.

"Master, if the Earl did send them, then he already knows where we are!" Allen said.

"And if he didn't?" Cross scowled.

"Then...why would so many attack one town?"

"Maybe there's something there he wants," the man shrugged.

"Is it worth the risk? We can't let innocent people die," Klaud said.

"You'd rather **we** did?"

"That's our job," she scowled.

"Not anymore," Cross shot back.

"Fine, you run away and I'll stop them," Klaud frowned at him, turning her horse with a tug of his reigns.

"Master!" Allen exclaimed.

"Alright, alright," the man muttered to the boy, "Just don't blame me when we get caught," he added with a sigh, ushering the horse to follow Klaud's.

The large group of akuma had already begun attacking the town, and the old stone buildings were no match for the glowing demonic threads of the Level Three's.

Cross hid the horses, and Allen a short distance away in the shrubbery, leaving the boy very frustrated that he couldn't help. As he stared at his still useless left arm, the two Generals made short work of the akuma, and he found that his master had been right. When he tried to activate the arm it tingled painfully and the green energy crackled and fizzled away almost as soon as it appeared; he shouldn't have attempted to use it. The effort made him dizzy and sapped what little energy he had.

The last thing he remembered seeing, or at least what he thought he saw, was a rogue akuma fleeing the town, heading straight towards him. He tried valiantly to get his arm to activate but it wouldn't. There was a loud 'bang' followed quickly by a flash of blue before everything faded away.

And, while Allen lost consciousness, Road Kamelot watched from a distance, sitting on Lero hovering in the air, as Cross shielded his pupil, guarding the boy with an unyielding stubbornness. She decided to let them be for now, and to let them continue without attempting to following them.

...She had much to report to the Earl.


	7. Truth Will Out

**Chapter 6 : _Truth Will Out._**

* * *

"Stupid kid," Cross muttered, "I told you not to," he sighed, kneeling down to examine Allen's left arm.

"He is stubborn," Klaud gave a rueful smile as she approached them, "That was the last one...we better go," she said, "Let's get him up on the horse, you can scold him later."

"Yeah," the man sighed, lifting the boy into his arms and it wasn't long before they were riding as fast as they could from the town, getting ever closer to Dover.

* * *

Allen was dreaming again, and this time his dream was different. His master, along with everyone he'd ever met in the Order, were standing across from the nameless ghost and they all had their backs to him. It was dark and yet he could clearly make out the gold on his masters' official coat and he could plainly see the mans' red hair despite the lack of light.

"Master?" Allen spoke quietly, moving towards Cross, "Master?" he repeated, now standing directly behind the man.

"Allen Walker..." the voice of the ghost said and Allen jumped.

"What?! What do you want?! Why won't you leave me alone?!" the boy cried, but he got no answer.

Then, the forms of his master and his friends started to disappear like smoke riding on the wind and Allen stared in horror as they blew away, even though he could feel no wind. "Master?" Allen called, but again he was met with silence, "What have you done? Where's master?! Where are my friends?!" he yelled at the ghost.

"They...are...unnecessary..." the voice answered, "You...we...need no one."

"What?"

"They will hold us back..."

"...Us?" Allen took a step back, "...What..."

"We need no one..." the voice said again at the same time, Allen could feel the darkness crawling around his limbs like snakes. "...No one..." the voice repeated, spinning around to face Allen with a soulless smile.

* * *

The upper echelons of the Order and of the Vatican that General Cross so despised, loved their meetings. Meetings were opportunities for them to move up in rank and show off their cruelty in luxurious rooms of dark woods, soft upholstery, and to eat good food while they were at it. They squandered their lives away in meetings, or so the General often said, but meetings were often their battlefields, most of them knew how to fight and many had even been soldiers, but because they couldn't use Innocence, they found other ways to fight - frequently amongst themselves, and against their 'allies.'

"...Should there be another Level Four attack, the Exorcists wouldn't stand a chance alone," one of the men in the room said.

"Even Lenalee Lee's new Innocence couldn't stand up to it alone, it's only thanks to General Cross that it was destroyed," Rouvelier said, "But we have proof that the new 'Crystal' type has more potential than conventional Innocence," he added somewhat smugly.

"Explain," the High General ordered.

"It formed from her blood, therefore if it is damaged, it will use blood to repair itself," the man said.

"But the human body doesn't have an unlimited supply of blood, so in theory, wouldn't it kill it's host if it was damaged enough?" someone asked without emotion.

"In theory," Rouvelier shrugged, "But that is what makes it stronger. According to the tests we ran, this new Innocence is more durable, and it grows in strength at a considerable speed. The girl's old 'Dark Boots' were never much of a threat, but now, they rival even Allen Walker's 'Crown Clown'."

"If the boy is so strong, why did you have him branded a traitor?" one if the others asked him, "He was a valuable asset against the Earl, despite the Will of the Fourteenth."

"Can we take the risk that the boy will remain on our side?" Rouvelier scowled at the man, "Would you risk your own life to keep him as an ally?"

"He is no longer our concern," another said, "We should focus now on how to stop future Level Fours from infiltrating the Order. We are two Generals down now."

"Agreed," the High General said, "We need to strengthen the Innocence, no matter what the cost."

* * *

Cross and Klaud rode on while Allen slept, and, for almost two days, the boy was hardly conscious. He had brief intermissions where his eyes were slightly open, and his breathing quickened but he didn't speak. Cross was more than a little concerned but he said nothing about it to Klaud, instead, when they stopped to rest, he would silently tend to the boy's injuries. But, after a while, on the night before they reached Dover, Allen opened his eyes.

The Generals had decided to stop for the night and Cross was keeping watch while Klaud slept lightly against one of many trees. Allen found himself lying on the ground, on the cloak he'd been wearing, with his masters' coat atop him like a blanket.

"Huh?" Allen blinked.

"Thought you could escape a scolding if you stayed asleep, did you?" he heard the familiar, deep voice of his master say the minute his eyes opened.

"...W...what?" the boy coughed, his throat dry.

"What did I tell you about using that arm?" his master said to him.

"My..." Allen furrowed his brow as he recalled what his master meant, "...I didn't have a choice...the akuma was headed straight at me..." he broke off, coughing.

"Didn't do yourself any favours, you know," the man said, letting out a puff of smoke from his cigarette. He was cold since he'd let Allen had his cloak and then he'd given the boy his coat as well, and he'd been smoking almost without respite, cursing himself for going soft.

"...What was I supposed to do?" Allen hissed as his master scoffed quietly.

"...Catch," the man said a minute later, tossing a water canister towards the boy, "I can't concentrate with all your coughing."

"Well, I'm sorry for coughing," Allen muttered, drinking the water gratefully. He did feel a lot better than he had in the last few days, his wounds didn't ache as much. "How long was I asleep?"

"Almost two days," Cross said and Allen nearly choked.

"Two days?!" the boy exclaimed.

"Yep," his master nodded, "We'll be in Dover by morning," he added.

"...Oh," Allen breathed, "But...then what...just keep hiding forever?"

"Unless you'd rather go back to the Tower."

"...No..."

"Didn't think so," Cross smiled, "And since you're awake, we might as well get going. Think you can ride by yourself?" he asked standing up from the ground.

"...Yeah...I think so," Allen answered, following his master's lead. He gave the man his coat back and got into the saddle of one of the horses, trying to hide just how much that effort pulled at his injuries.

Cross woke Klaud and they started off once more, both Generals cautiously watching Allen to make sure he didn't fall from the horse.

* * *

Cross hadn't been to the Dover ports in years, but was relieved to see that the ship he intend to 'barter' use of, was still in good condition. It was an old style Clipper with three large masts and a square rig. To his knowledge, the ship had been refitted and refurbished at least half a dozen times and it was often capable of reaching speeds of up to 15 knots on a good day.

They made their way closer to the port and approached a large, old building surrounded by ships tackle, wooden crates and barrels, fishing equipment and other odds and ends. They could see a small group of people standing round a horse drawn cart and unloading several large barrels from it.

The person in charge appeared the be a young woman. She was tall and slim with short, wavy blond hair held back in a murky red bandanna, and tanned skin from years at sea. Her dark brown trousers were tucked into a pair of thigh high, black boots and she wore a thick belt atop a thread bare waistcoat. Her name was Captain Corinna Mallory, the daughter of an old friend of General Cross and she was a merchant captain of dubious imports.

The woman looked up from her work as she heard the approach of hooves on the ground, "Well, look at what the cat dragged in," she smirked, "General Cross, I didn't expect to be seeing you again."

"I'm not exactly thrilled to see you either, kid," Cross told her, "...You know that favour your dad owed me...I've come to collect."

"Oh, this isn't gonna be good," Corinna let out a deep sigh and turned to the men still hauling the barrels. "You'll have to make do without me for a while, boys," she told them, "Right, come on in then," she then told Cross as they were dismounting their horses.

Corinna led the three of them into the large building, and sat down at one of many tables in what looked like a cafeteria. It remained Allen of the cafeteria in the Order Headquarters. "Are you planning on introducing us or am I gonna have to do it myself?" Corinna asked Cross as they sat down, "Ah, never mind," she turned to Klaud with a smile, "I'm Corinna Mallory, Captain Mallory to you Cross, in case you'd forgotten."

"General Klaud Nyne," the General said with a grin, "Always nice to see another woman put this useless man in his place."

"I think we'll get on very well," Corinna shook Klaud's hand, "And you are?" she asked Allen.

"Allen Walker," he answered.

"You look like you've been in the wars, Allen Walker," she frowned but he said nothing.

"My idiot apprentice is fine, "Cross said quickly. And then told her that he wanted use of her ship but she frowned and she sat back in her chair.

"I assume that discretion is in order then?" she asked slowly.

"Preferably," he nodded, "I'll let you keep the horses," Cross offered.

"It's a bit late in the year to be making the run now," Corinna said, "Bribe or no bribe."

"That's fine," Cross shrugged.

"It'll take longer."

"That's fine," the man repeated.

"It'll be cold," Corinna raised an eyebrow.

"I said, it's fine, damn it!"

"Fine, fine, calm down, old man," she sighed, scrubbing a hand through her short hair, "My father did owe you a favour and I won't ask any questions...but as soon as this is done with I don't want you asking me for anything else. Got it?"

"Yeah, yeah."

"Why didn't that sound very sincere?" she said to herself. "Whatever...my dad owed you one, so I guess I do too. I'll take you to Calais, we'll set off at night. I hope none of you get sea sick."

"I knew you couldn't say no," Cross grinned.

"Can it, mister, I never wanna set eyes on you again after this. And another thing, before I let you even set foot on my ship, you better take a bath, you smell like a stables!"

"Wanna join me?"

"Grrrr!" Corinna suddenly threw a hard, metal mug she reached for on the table, at Cross who tilted his head to the right to avoid it. "Why my father let you be his friend I'll never know!" she yelled.

"Why do you have to annoy women so much?" Klaud sighed deeply.

"It's fun," Cross told her simply.

"...Useless," the General said quietly.

"Anyway," Corinna sighed, "You two at least are welcome," she said to Klaud and Allen, "I'll let you use the rooms here till we leave, I bet you'd like a bath and something to eat."

* * *

Allen for one, was glad to get a warm bath, and though he had to be careful of his injures he felt strangely relaxed despite his situation. He couldn't deny that he was saddle sore, so perhaps he was just happy not to have to ride a horse again, at least for a while.

He laid out his masters shirt he'd been wearing, carefully on the bed and gently started to remove each bandage before taking a bath. Then he had to attempt to reapply the clean dressings but he found it very difficult. Soon after, he heard a knock at the door and a gentle voice spoke.

"Thought you might need some help," Klaud said, opening the door slowly.

"Erm...yeah..." Allen admitted, "...Maybe I do..."

"Cross thought you'd be sleeping," she explained as she sat beside him and started to wrap the bandages, "Or...maybe he hoped you'd be sleeping."

"Mmm," the boy breathed, not knowing what to say.

"I...don't think I need to tell you, but...he does care about you, you know that, right?"

"Why are you telling me that?"

"...I've never particularly told anyone but my master was like Cross...no...he was worse. He never told me I'd done a good job, or that've was proud of me...I said I'd never be like him. I wanted my pupils to know that I cared, not just to guess that I did. I don't think you need to guess at it though...not every master would do what he did for you...I don't know that mine would have," she explained.

"...Then...why won't he tell me what he knows?" Allen sighed.

"I don't know the answer to that...but I'd guess that he's protecting you."

"Protecting me?"

"That'd be nice, wouldn't it?" she smiled but Allen said nothing. He didn't know exactly what to say.

Corinna later encouraged Allen to eat his full, and she and the kitchen staff were awed by just how much he could eat. After all, he hadn't had a decent meal in days and his appetite was usually fairly large anyway.

As night fell, Corinna led them across to her ship and onto the deck, then into the bowels of the lower decks she showed them to one of the cabins . "We've freed up a cabin for you - you'll have to share, it's pretty big and we managed to make up three beds in there," she told them, "...Sea's quite calm now, but it could change, I can't promise a comfy ride the whole way."

"We'll be fine," Klaud replied, and Corinna left to set sail.

* * *

A while later, the three of them, Cross, Klaud and Allen sat in their shared cabin but the air was tense. Allen had been trying to distract himself by building a house of cards, sitting on the floor by a small table, but the ship's motion made the task impossible and his hand still wasn't quite right which didn't help matters. When the two balancing cards collapsed for the hundredth time he threw them aside in anger and turned to his master.

"Master, why won't you tell me now! I can't take it any more!" he couldn't stop himself from blurting out.

"Allen..."

"Master...please...tell me about the Fourteenth...tell me why I can control the Ark...please..."

"You won't like it," Cross sighed.

"Please..." Allen repeated pitifully.

The General stood and took a deep breath of his cigarette and walked sluggishly to sit in one of the chairs close to Allen. He avoided eye contact which was unusual for the man, Klaud and the boy found this strange. She sat silently, wondering if she should leave, but Cross spoke before she could move.

"I knew Mana...never told you did I?" he said, "Did...did Mana ever tell you about a man called Nea?" he asked after a minute.

"...I...no, he didn't," Allen answered, confused, "Why? Who was he?"

"He was a human...until he became a Noah, but he was more power hungry than any of them, he managed to kill all but one because he wanted to become the family patriarch."

"What does this have to do with..."

"Just...listen..." Cross sighed and Allen simply nodded, shocked that his master hadn't shouted. "Safe to say Nea didn't succeed and after that became clear to him, his main concern was his human brother...they were on the run for a while...it was bloody...Mana was his human brother, Allen."

"W...wha..." the boy stammered uncertainly, "That's...that can't be..."

"You think I'd lie about something like this? You think this is my idea of fun?!"

"...Well...I..."

"Anyway...Nea always said if anything happened to him, he'd be reborn and take his revenge against the Earl. After he died...Mana...mind of lost it...he was never the same...I couldn't ever tell if he remembered the past or not. I promised I'd watch over him...once he found you he got better I thought...till I remembered."

"Remembered...remembered what?"

"...The...promise to return," Cross answered slowly. "They needed a host to implant his Nea's will into...I suppose you were the first one they saw," the man explained, his visible eye showing only sorrow.

"Wha...implanted?" Allen repeated, "How? When?"

"I don't know...sometime before Nea died. What I could never understand was how he did that when you were born years after he died. Well, even I don't know everything...right?" the man admitted. "But...the host will be taken over by the Fourteenth's memories...by Nea, so that he can get his revenge...there's already been signs...haven't there?"

"What...so that's what...that was...huh..." Allen laughed ruefully, "What the hell?!" he cried. "So...it was all a lie...Mana, when he said he loved me...did he mean me...or...which one..."

General Cross had long since become oblivious to Klaud's presence, as was evident when he slid out of his chair, onto the floor beside Allen and roughly pulled the boy to his chest, a look of deep sadness reflecting in his red eye, he didn't even notice as the woman snuck out of the cabin.

"It's ironic..." Cross breathed, "...I can't laugh at Tiedoll anymore..." he said and Allen's eyes widened in shock. His master had never once hugged him, shown any signs of affection or even the slightest care for him."I guess it's partly my fault...I never did anything to stop them...I never believed it'd actually work, but...we all wanted to stop the Earl so badly...we didn't really bother to think about the consequences. We thought that if anyone could stop him, it'd be Nea, especially after he killed so many of the Noah."

"Mas..." the young boy was too stunned to move as he felt his masters gloved fingers tighten against the back of his head.

"Heh...it's all so messed up, isn't it?" the man said, ignoring Allen's attempt to speak, "Damn bastards...why'd it have to be a brat like you?" he muttered. "...If you never believe anything else I say, just believe me now...I wish it'd been anyone but you...anyone else..."

"...How...how long..." Allen managed to whisper.

"Hmm?" Cross hummed.

"...Till I'm not...me anymore...how long?" the boy asked and his master shook his head.

"I don't know," the man said.

"Can't I stop it?"

"I don't know," Cross repeated uncertainly.

"I can't, can I?"

"It's...unlikely..." the General admitted, "But...I do have an idea," he added, suddenly taking a deep, almost rejuvenating breath.

"Huh?" Allen blinked, leaning back from the man.

"Regardless of whether he's dead, he still has thoughts, so if we let Maria in your head, she can suppress his will so you can control him, rather than the other way round," the man explained, "Well, that's the theory."

"Maria...inside my head...wait a minute..." Allen panicked, "Isn't that..."

"Genius?" Cross suggested.

"Crazy?" the boy corrected and his master sighed.

"Shut up, it's genius," the man said with bravado.

"Will it...work?" Allen asked, "I mean...he's not...controlling me...yet..."

"He got a good foothold when you played his piano, didn't he?" Cross said and Allen sagged.

"Mmm," he nodded.

"Then don't use it again..."

"But..."

"You wanna turn into a Noah?!"

"No, but..."

"But what?!"

"If he really can stop the Earl...if I can use the Ark against him..."

"It's not that simple, idiot," the General hissed, "There's more to this than you think."

"Huh?"

"But I think you've heard enough for one day," Cross stated, pushing himself up off the floor.

"Hey, you can't just..." Allen began shouting, trying to stand up, but his injuries stopped him and the rocking of the ship in the sea didn't help his balance.

"Go to sleep," the man repeated.

"No."

"I said, go to sleep! I'll have Maria make you if you don't!"

"Tell me what you meant!" Allen shouted, "You can't just leave it there!" he said, grabbing Timcanpy from the air and hurling it at his master. It hit the back of his head and the man let out a furious snarl, spinning back round to glare down at Allen.

"Who gave you permission to use Tim as ammunition?!" Cross growled, muttering obscenities, "Damn you, I ought'a...

"...You should've told me sooner..." Allen said under the withering glare of his master.

"Which one of us is the master?!" the man growled, "I decide who tells who what and when..."

"...That didn't really make any sense..." the boy muttered.

"Shut up, it made perfect sense!" Cross rolled his eyes, "Besides...would you have believed it if I had told you?"

"Well..."

"Well, nothing," Cross mocked, "You were just a kid, you didn't know anything about anything, and you bloody worshiped Mana! How was I supposed to explain it all?"

"I..."

"I didn't want to tell you till it was necessary, you hadn't shown any signs of having his will, I thought..." the man broke off, unable to finish.

"I...keep hearing that song in my head..." Allen told his master, "And...I keep seeing a...a thing in my dreams...it's like a man...but it's...it's not...it gets more and more human."

"That's Nea...that's the Fourteenth," the General said gravely. "Now...I mean it, try and sleep before we dock," he added, not intending to let Allen speak. He couldn't bear to hear the boy's defeated tone anymore, "I'll wake you up when we get there...we'll talk later..." Cross finished, leaving the cabin, closing the door silently behind him.

"So...that's it, huh?" Klaud said to him the moment the door was closed. She was leaning against the wall next to the door.

"That's it," he said, suppressing his embarrassment at having let her see his concern for his apprentice.

"Poor kid," she sighed, walking away.

"Yeah...poor kid," Cross agreed quietly, glancing at the door, "Damn you Mana," he muttered, slowly going to join Corinna at the helm.

* * *

Understandably, Allen couldn't sleep at all. His mind was in turmoil. His beloved adopted father had used him to try and bring back his dead brother. Had Mana ever really loved him? If he had...why then would he have continued to teach him the symbols of the Ark's music as he grew up?

It was true, he never would have believed his master without proof; he loved Mana, he couldn't believe that the man would use him so cruelly. Perhaps it was all a misunderstanding. Maybe his master was wrong about the whole thing.

Or...if it was all true, then both of them; both Mana and General Cross, had taken him in not out of kindness or pity, but because they wanted something. Mana wanted a vessel for the soul of his brother, and Cross had wanted to keep said vessel under close scrutiny to use as a weapon. Neither of them had cared for him at all. It made him want to cry. But then he remembered what his master had said to him.

_'...I wish it'd been anyone but you...anyone else...'_

Didn't that have to mean that Cross cared about him. Maybe Mana hadn't, but the General did, didn't he? It was just so hard for him to believe that Mana hadn't cared at all. Mana had done everything for him. Mana had been there when no one else had. Mana had fed him, clothed him and kept him safe when no one else even cared for him at all. He couldn't just forget everything that the man had done for him...could he? Granted what Mana had done to him was cruel but the man had done good things as well. Was it fair to only remember the bad?

With a deep sigh of frustration, he pushed himself up from the bed and pulled on his boots, then walked out into the deck. Usually he would've spoken to the people he passed, but he didn't say as much as 'hello' as he walked listlessly to the far railings to watch the waves carefully, trying to push every other thought from his mind.

* * *

A.N. I actually started this story from my own rewrite of the one scene where Cross tells Allen the truth with my own twist at the end. I don't know just how believable you all think it is, but I really liked the idea that Cross wouldn't just give up and let Allen be taken over by the Fourteenth. It was by far one of the most enjoyable things I've written because it's so emotional, and, if you read the manga chapters 165/8 - I did keep the main facts the same.


	8. Couronne de la Mer

**Chapter 7 : _Couronne de la Mer._**

* * *

Like his apprentice, Cross too was restless and Tim had long since picked up on his masters' discomfort. He was spiralling around Cross' head while the General paced and paced and paced behind the ship's wheel with her captain attempting to ignore the sounds of the man's boots slamming onto the deck and failing miserably.

"Will you stop that?" Corinna growled.

"Shut it and steer the bloody boat," Cross growled back.

"I'm trying, but you're not making it easy. You should be thanking your lucky stars that there's no storm tonight, not pushing your luck with me."

"Humph," the man scoffed.

"You're such a..." she stared to say but stopped, "Hey...isn't that...your apprentice?" Corinna squinted over the wheel, glancing down at the lower deck.

Cross looked out onto the deck himself to see Allen standing there, without the cloak, on the left side, leaning against the wooden railings, staring out at the sea. The boy paid no attention to the men moving about the deck, securing sails or talking to one another, as he gazed listlessly into the night.

Grumbling to himself the whole way, the General made his way to the Galley, ignoring the glances of surprise and fear of the crew. He helped himself to the first bottle of alcohol he found, took a single glass and walked back to the deck. Tim fluttered about his head as he stalked purposefully to his apprentice.

"Thought I told you to sleep," Cross muttered.

"...Couldn't," Allen replied slowly as his master held out an empty glass to him. He turned his head slowly to stare at the glass and blinked when Cross sighed at his look of confusion.

"Whiskey," the man said at Allen's look of confusion, "S'the only thing I could find on this damn boat," he added with a shrug.

"Don't want any," Allen said, turning back to the sea.

"Take the damn glass, or so help me, I'll..." Cross rumbled, and with a reluctant air, Allen held out his hand without looking at the man. "That's more like it," he muttered, pouring a considerable amount into the glass, then taking a drink straight from the bottle. "Gah...cheap rubbish," the man complained, "Still...better than nothing...drink it...you'll thank me."

Cross pursed his lip, at a loss for words to help the boy; he'd never been good at handling delicate situations, but this was his mess, his responsibility and he'd never forgive himself if he ran from the boy now. "I hate the sea," he said suddenly.

"Mmm," Allen shrugged, and once again Cross didn't know what to say, but the boy soon spoke, saving the General the trouble from having to think. "Why did you come after me?" Allen asked genuinely confused, "If you knew the whole time...about...him...why bother? What's the point if it's only gonna take over my mind anyway?

"Didn't you always tell me that Mana said..."

"I don't care what he said, it doesn't matter anymore...He didn't care anyway," the boy muttered.

"You know that for sure, do you?" Cross muttered.

"Don't you?" Allen replied calmly, "That's why you didn't tell me, right...because everything was a lie."

"Maybe he did..." the man sighed, leaning his back against the railings beside the boy, "Maybe he didn't, I dunno...he wasn't in his right mind, I told you."

"Hmmm," Allen breathed, blinking down at the drink in his hand, and chose to take a sip. "S'good," he murmured reluctantly.

"No accounting for taste, I suppose," Cross chuckled.

"...I was...I was so happy...when you said I could use his name...remember? Maybe I shouldn't have been..."

"You disowning him now?"

"Yes...no...maybe..." Allen frowned, "I don't know," he said, drinking the rest of the whiskey in one go and Cross silently refilled the empty glass. "I want to say it doesn't matter to me...but...it does matter, doesn't it?"

"He was a fool," Cross said simply.

"He was my father...or...I thought he was...does it make me a fool if I say I still want him to be?"

"...No...it makes you human."

"He was the only person who took care of me...I don't understand...it's not fair," Allen mumbled, closing his eyes.

Cross sighed as he regarded his apprentice, and the teenager looked even smaller and more vulnerable owing to the shirt he wore, which was several sizes too large. It reminded the man of the child he had found at Mana's grave. Back then, he and Mother had thought that by keeping the truth from Allen, he would be able to have a good life before things got too bad, but had it been more cruel? Had they given him a taste of something he could never really have and then stolen it back?

"No, it's not," the man agreed quietly, "And if either of them was still alive, I'd..." he started to add in anger, but he thought better of it, "...Never mind..." he said instead.

Allen couldn't help but smile at his master's familiar use of angry threats, but he felt strangely pleased by the fact that this time, the man was using one in his defence.

"I don't want to die," he told the General, suddenly.

"I know," Cross said, "I told you, I had a plan."

"...Do you really think it'll work?" the boy asked.

"I'm...fairly sure it'll work...probably," the man replied.

"We'll be moving around all the time again now, won't we?" Allen asked, not needing the man to answer, "Will we ever be able to go back?"

"I don't know."

"I don't understand why you said you hated it there...I liked it...it kinda reminded me of the circus...only better..."

"I suppose they're all like clowns in some ways," Cross scoffed.

"...I never liked clowns," Allen muttered.

"Me either...damn stupid things, if you ask me."

"Yeah...you're right..." the boy grumbled and took a deep breath. "So...France...why France?" Allen asked, clearly wanting to change the subject, "...And if you say it's for the wine and the women, I'll..." he rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, of course, it was my plan all along. I busted you out of a maximum security prison just so I could get banished from the Order and risk having them all shadowing me while I enjoy some French wine," Cross chuckled, "S' a good plan, don't you think?"

"I wouldn't put it past you," Allen said quietly, a visible black aura prickling around him.

"I should've thought of it sooner. You should've got kidnapped sooner, idiot!"

"...Didn't you already tell me that I shouldn't have got kidnapped at all?" Allen replied in a dead pan voice.

"I never said that," Cross muttered

"Yes you did."

"No, I didn't."

"Really?"

"Really," the man scowled.

"Oh," Allen said sarcastically, "If you say so, I am hearing things, you know."

"Ha hah," Cross rolled his eyes.

"What? Too soon?" the boy asked with deep sarcasm.

"Y'always did have a warped sense of humour," the man replied, taking another drink from the bottle. No matter what the situation he was always secretly relieved to see 'dark' Allen raise his head. It meant that the real Allen was still there underneath all the 'Mana-like politeness.'

"...If Maria's going to be inside my head...won't she just be controlling me?"

"No, not you, just Nea."

"But she can't be in my head all the time, can she?"

"She can give it a damn good try," Cross said sternly. He'd had a lot of time to think about his plan and he believed he had accounted for everything.

The General knew that if he wanted to manipulate Maria's ability to the full then she would need to be released from her coffin, but if she was only keeping a vague presence in someone's mind, then she could remain sealed away but she would draw on his magic to keep using her abilities. Since she would only be whispering to Nea to remain dormant, Cross had estimated that he could keep her doing so for an indefinite period of time even without fully using his Innocence in battle. However, the flaw in this was that Allen would need to remain close to him, the further away from Cross the boy went, then the weaker the effect would be.

"Think about it," he said to his apprentice after a while, "...Just don't take too long," the man added cryptically, and he held out the bottle of whiskey to the boy. Allen took the bottle reluctantly and he watched his master turn away to slowly walk back into the bowels of the ship.

Once he was alone he stared at the dusty, chipped bottle and poured himself another glass full. He'd never thought of himself as a drinker like his master, but to believe that Mana had never cared for him at all, whether it was true or not, shook his very soul to the core. It made him shiver where the cold did not and though he wanted to, he just couldn't cry; the thought was too terrifying, too damaging to bring forth tears. Now he understood what Mana had meant when he had once said that he couldn't cry, and that all of his tears had somehow dried up.

Allen now knew that some things hurt too much to even contemplate crying. All it created was a dull numbness, a kind of passive denial that logic couldn't shatter. He wanted to be angry, he wanted to scream out in fury and destroy everything to show the world just how hurt he was, but he couldn't.

Just as he thought that his life had begun to take shape, everything was being torn out from under him. He thought he had finally accepted everything that had happened and that he could live as an Exorcist because he wanted to, not just to atone, and now everything was different. Allen didn't know what to do. Should he listen to his master and try to live as himself or let the soul of Nea Walker consume him? If that had been what Mana wanted then a small part of him thought that he should honour it. But why should he have to give up his life for a man who, as it turned out, hadn't cared for him? Was a man who had used him to bring back his dead brother worth such a sacrifice?

Allen turned around and fell to the deck, leaning his back against the railings he could feel each wooden dent and groove through the fine cotton of his masters' shirt but he paid it no heed. He rested the bottle and the glass beside him and was ignorant of the ships' rocking motions as the vessel moved through the English Channel.

* * *

Allen remained on deck until the early hours of the morning when Corinna's ship docked in Calais, and with the autumn months setting in it would remain dark and cold until much later in the day.

The French docks of Calais were some of the best in Europe and widely used by ships from all quarters of the globe. It had a long wooden pier from which many smaller perpendicular piers stretched, and on which many large ships could dock, and it lead to numerous warehouses and a large open space which was used for sailors markets.

Surprisingly, there were several other ships either docking, loading or leaving and each person seemed to be making as little noise as possible. "Welcome to the shady world of midnight shipping," Corinna smiled as Cross walked onto the deck to join them. He was carrying the cloak he'd given to Allen and he knew the boy hadn't returned to their cabin since he'd left him on deck.

"I thought it'd be...deserted," Klaud said; she'd never been much of a mariner since she preferred to have her feet squarely on dry land.

"Well, it's one of those unwritten rules of the sea," Corinna said with a grin to rival Cross'. "Chances are they all want privacy as well, so, for all intents and purposes, there's no one else here but us, if they renounce another sailor it won't end well for them."

"Just how many 'unwritten' rules of the sea are there?" Klaud asked curiously.

"God only knows," the captain shrugged, "There's one for everything I think. Anyway, there's no need to worry...but I'd cover up just in case...none of you exactly blend in to a crowd very well. They're more likely to ignore a few people in cloaks than...well..." she sighed.

Allen was sat in the same spot he had been for hours and remained, as he had done since Cross had left him there, oblivious to everything around him. He hadn't finished off the whiskey and the glass and bottle had long since rolled away from him.

"Come on, get up, kid," Cross said to the boy, standing in front of him with his arms crossed, "Time to go," he muttered, lifting Allen to his feet. He sighed deeply in frustration, though at himself or his apprentice he wasn't quite sure, as he fastened the cloak about the boy's shoulders. The General was sure that Allen didn't even notice that he was shivering or that he was much more pale than usual.

"Wait a minute," Corinna said to Cross, making him turn around to see her walk quickly to her own cabin. "Here," she said, holding a black cloak out to Cross, "It was my fathers," she explained, "It's...erm...too big for me and I think you'll get more use out of it than me..."

Cross regarded her with a curious expression as she spoke again, "Just take it...and no, this doesn't count as a favour, so you don't owe me anything."

Corinna's sailors were already lowering the gangplank onto the pier as the General took the cloak from her. "You realise you probably won't see it, or me, again," he said to her quietly.

"I should hope not," she replied without emotion, watching him don the cloak. "Good luck," she said with a sigh as they disembarked.

* * *

As the three of them walked quickly down the long pier, not getting too close to any of the people unloading their own ships, Cross made sure that he stayed close his apprentice. He couldn't help it, and as much as he disliked the idea that he was going soft, he wondered if he'd always had a soft spot for Allen.

Leaving the docks completely, they started through the streets themselves which were cobbled, narrow and winding, lined on either side with tall buildings and flickering street lamps which, in areas, did little to banish the shadows. There was a number of people walking the streets and the majority appeared to be stumbling from the building which emitted the most light and noise they could see.

A battered, hanging wooden sign declared it to be called 'Couronne de la Mer' and it was considerably larger than its surrounding neighbours.

Klaud could see Cross eyeing the building, even beneath his cowl, and she sighed deeply, "Go to the nearest 'pub' isn't the answer to everything," she told him.

"Always rooms in a public house," the man shrugged, "No matter what country you're in."

"Well...we do need to find somewhere before sun up," she replied, "...Then we can get moving again tonight."

"So, public house it is, then," Cross chuckled.

"Don't look so happy about it," Klaud told him, and much to her annoyance, he only gave her a smile from under his cowl.

What they found in the 'Couronne de la Mer' was a scene very familiar to both General Cross and his apprentice. A loud, heavy atmosphere illuminated by candles and fuelled by various alcoholic beverages, instruments long since discarded in a corner, their musicians now unable to play, and, what Allen could still remember his master telling him were 'women of the night', prowling the room with men eager to follow them.

He could distantly hear his master demanding the use of rooms from the owners of the building, but Allen couldn't help but notice the men, somewhat drunkenly playing poker at the far end of the room with a crowd of enthusiastic onlookers standing around their small table. Even from a distance he could clearly make out which of the men were cheating and just how they were doing it, but before he could get too engrossed, General Klaud gently pushed him forwards to a flight of stairs.

Allen was directed to a room by his master, which was furnished with basic necessities, and unlike many places he'd stayed in with the Order lately, this one clearly had no bathroom attached. Instead it had the traditional wash bowl and pitcher set, resting on a small circular table. Allen had rather forgotten that this was much more common than running water for most people. The single window in the far wall was just beside the only bed in the room which didn't look nearly as comfortable as the bed in the Order he'd been taken from.

Leaving Allen in their room alone with strict orders that he was not to leave or open the door for anyone, Cross went to Klaud's room where they could talk about what it was best to do without worrying the boy. They decided it best to stay quiet until night fell and then they would have to be clear of the city by sunrise so they didn't draw attention to themselves. They would also have to find horses before they left, since Cross had 'given' their old animals to Corinna.

When the General returned to the room he was sharing with his apprentice for the day, he found Allen sat against the wall, the hood of his cloak pulled down served as the only sign that he'd settled down and he stared listlessly at the opposite wall whilst flicking the deck of cards from one hand to the other.

Allen had been left to his own devices for well over an hour now and all he'd been thinking about was Mana and Cross. Both had changed his life but he couldn't stop thinking about how his so called adoptive father could condemn him to death. He thought he'd go mad.

"You gonna be doing till we leave?" Cross asked him, looking at the rapidly moving playing cards.

"...Maybe," Allen shrugged, flexing the muscles of his left hand. Timcanpy was sat on the boy's head, his wings resting and his tail coiled around strands of white hair in an almost protective grasp.

"You could go win us some money...or some new horses...or some decent wine."

"...Thought we were keeping a low profile," Allen replied calmly.

"Don't beat 'em too easily then."

"Everyone always notices when a kid wins at poker."

"If you don't want to, just say so," Cross sighed sitting down in the rooms' only chair.

"...I do want to, I like cards...but since when does it matter either way?"

"You in a bad mood?" the man muttered.

"No," Allen grumbled, pushing himself to his feet, "But it doesn't matter...I'll get you your damn money..." he muttered as he moved to the door. "They're all so drunk down there anyway, it's not gonna be..."

"Oi!" Cross bawled, jumping up from his chair to grab Allen by his shirt sleeve before the boy could open the door. "You're not going anywhere, you'll blow our cover!"

"Thought you wanted me to get money...like always," the boy replied sorely.

"You been at the whiskey, have you?"

"No," Allen muttered.

"Could've fooled me," the man scoffed as he listened to the boy mumble to himself quietly. He couldn't help but make out a few words here and there.

"...'Go get a better paying job'...or 'you work all day and this is all you got?'...How about my favourite, what about leaving me for one of your debt collectors to find and have them take me away to work at sea for a week and be expected to do the same work as people five times my size?! I'd forgotten how much fun that one was! I'm just doing what you tell me to do."

"Yeah," Cross growled lightly, "You want to know why I did that? You wanna know how many times I got told was a bad master I was - how stupid I was for letting any of that happen to a kid?"

"...Then why did you?" Allen asked.

He spun around to stare up at his master, genuinely wanting to know why the man had acted as he had for so many years and then risked everything to save the life of the apprentice that he had all but driven mad with his endless debts. Allen just couldn't understand General Cross no matter how hard he tried to. He desperately wanted to think that his master cared for him where Mana didn't, and though he could laugh - just about - at everything Cross had done in the past he couldn't understand why, or how, someone who cared about him could treat him like a slave. Mana never had.

"...I told her, I said, I don't know how to look after a kid, she didn't listen to me..." Cross grumbled.

"Huh? What?" Allen furrowed his brow.

"I made it so you could take care of yourself...that's what you're supposed to do, isn't it; make sure a kid can look after hisself?" the man reiterated clearly.

"...Erm...I..."

"That's how I got taught, what else was I supposed to do? And it stopped you pining after stupid, bloody Mana, didn't it?"

"Well...it...

"It's not like it was a cut and dry case, anyway," the man shrugged, "You're not really meant to take kids as apprentices in our business...but there's always exceptions. Even if Mana had been...normal...you'd have been found and brought to the Order tout de bloody suite as a kid because you already had Innocence...I had my reasons. You never saw it that way, but kids never do," he sighed. "Anyway...you thought any more about what I told you?"

"...Yeah..."

"And?"

"...If you think it'll work, then..." Allen said quietly and shrugged, letting the previous subject drop with some reluctance. He watched as his master called Maria forth, and she emerged from her coffin with her usual air of dramatics. Her bright light was amplified in the small room and as Cross began reciting the magic, Allen found himself entranced by the strange words.

Maria's elegant music soon over took the sounds of the Ark in Allen's mind, and the Fourteenth's song was replaced by the hymn-like elegance of her voice. He could almost see the palpable confusion of the ghost in his mind and feel his anger at being shut out.

"Well?" Cross asked, tilting his head.

Time seemed to pass slowly to Allen and he didn't register his master speaking at all. The only thing he was listening to was Maria's song; it made a welcome change to the previous song.

Allen walked over to the window and pulled back the yellowed curtain to focus on his reflection. His eyes widened when he could see only himself in the dusty window pane; the ghost that had haunted him was no where to be seen. It seemed to good to be true, and though he knew that he wasn't free of it, that it was only dormant, it was good enough that the ghost was silent and no longer able to torment him.

Cross took slow, cautious steps to his apprentice and he stood beside the boy, staring at their reflections in the glass.

"...It's...it's gone..." Allen said, stunned.

"No," the man sighed, "...Not gone, just..."

"I don't care," the boy stopped him from correcting his sentence.

The General hadn't had the heart to finish his sentence and he didn't want to face the truth of it himself. It was the state of mind that usually encouraged him to metaphorically drown his 'sorrows' in wine and he was of a good mind to go and do so, but before he could even think anything further his eyes shot wide open and his mind went completely blank.

Allen had turned around and, without warning, enveloped his waist in a tight hug. He couldn't say that it wasn't surprising or unexpected and he could only stand agape at his apprentice. Such an action as this was prompted by gratitude and affection, and those were things he thought he hadn't encouraged in his apprentice, but evidently he'd not done as good a job as he thought. The General had been sure that Allen would despise him forever for withholding the truth, so this was understandably not what he'd been expecting.

"I don't care," the boy repeated, "...It's good enough," he said.

Cross recovered enough to raise his hand and rest it on the boy's head and with his other hand he drew the curtain closed to hide their reflections; another second and he thought he'd start to see Nea as well.

"...Right...gimme them cards," the man said, taking a breath and gently pushing Allen away by the shoulders, "...Y'ever heard of a game called 'Cheat' or 'Bullshit'?"

"Erm...yeah...why?" Allen asked cautiously, clearly his master didn't intend to reprimand him for his actions and it wouldn't be discussed either, but that was fine with him. He'd just been so grateful not to see the eerie face of Nea Walker, the Fourteenth, staring back at him that he hadn't been able to stop himself.

"Some Americans showed me a while back...how 'bout the winner gets the mattress for the night...and none of that cheating thing with your left arm either."

"Eh?! Why not?!" the boy cried indignantly.

"Unfair advantage," Cross replied, "Don't think I don't know how you do it."

"But I have bad luck, if I don't cheat I'll lose!"

"Then you'll be sleeping in the chair," the man chuckled.

It suddenly struck him that the three of them - himself, Allen and Maria, who still remained in the room, must have made a strange picture indeed, but, he didn't much care.

"Why should I even play then?" Allen said grumpily, snapping Cross from his thoughts.

"Because it's a long time till sun down, kid, and I'm all you've got for company," the General replied smugly, "And if we don't play cards, I guess I'll just go downstairs and see just how much of a tab I can rack up before they kick us out."

"...I'll shuffle," the boy replied quickly taking up the cards with such a look of determination it made his master laugh.

* * *

The Millennium Earl was sat in a strangely furnished room with his Noah clan around him. The room was mostly dark blue and it had an aura of misery and sorrow about it, almost as though it had been furnished by the negative emotions of mankind itself - this was what made it one of his favourites.

"...I saw them," Road Kamelot grinned, "Cross and Allen on the run...I didn't get to have any fun. I did what you said, Earl-sama, I only watched them."

"She's right, lero, we did just watch them, lero," Lero nodded eagerly as he floated over to the Noah.

"We could easily be rid of both of them, sir," Lulu Bell sighed, "Why don't we just..."

"No, not yet," the Earl spoke, chuckling.

"If the kid's turning into a Noah, shouldn't we...encourage him...I mean he is..." Tyki Mikk shrugged.

"No, not this one," the Earl snapped quickly.

"Then what are you going to do?" Lulu Bell asked.

"Earl-sama, does this mean I can't have any more fun with Allen?" Road pined.

"Road-tama, we've been over this..." Lero sighed, but he went largely ignored as he floated by the Noah's head.

"No, you can have as much fun as you want, Road," the Earl said, "It'll be fun to watch him lose his mind to Nea. Just don't forget we'll have to kill him eventually, my pet."

"Oh," Road pouted, "But I love him."

"We can't risk having Nea loose again, not when things are getting so interesting," the Earl grinned.

"...Fine..." the young looking Noah gave a half hearted nod.

"The new egg, sir, what's the plan for that?" Lulu Bell asked, ever the serious one.

"Mmmm," the Earl hummed, "Since Allen Walker is determined to be a nuisance to me...I could send it to him as a present once it hatches."

"Eh? But then he'll be gone for good!" Road exclaimed.

"That's the idea, lero," the talking umbrella dead panned as the Earl continued to chuckle to himself.


	9. The Woman at the Fair

**Chapter 8 : _The Woman at the Fair._**

* * *

Allen had lost several rounds of 'cheat' and poker to his master, much to the man's delight, and so the boy had long since given up on playing cards the 'honourable' way. Once he decided to play his way, he beat Cross at poker in the blink of an eye and he vowed never to not cheat again.

A while later later, General Klaud threw her hand of cards into the air in frustration as Allen smugly put down his own cards, "Full house," he declared. He was more than grateful that the Generals had, if only for a time, fully distracted him from thinking about Mana or Nea, and even the increasing noise coming from outside the building, didn't seem to intrude on their card games either.

"Again! I can't believe it! Cross, why didn't you tell me he was a poker demon?!" she cried, turning round to the man reclining on the bed with his feet up.

"Hmm?" Cross hummed, "Well...I..."

"I never lose at poker," Allen smirked darkly and laughed, "...Never again..." he muttered to himself, sparing a glance at Cross.

"Clearly," Klaud sighed, "Well, what about bridge, how are you at bridge?"

"Never lost."

"Blackjack?"

"Never lost."

"...Old maid?" Klaud asked desperately.

"Never lost," Allen repeated again and the General sighed and leaned back in her chair.

"No more, I give up. You win kid," she smiled, "Now I know why you never wanted for money when you were away," she said to Cross.

"Mm, it's the only reason he kept me round," Allen nodded shuffling the cards from hand to hand, "But no matter how much I win it never lasts long when you keep buying things like Shumatsu wine and Romanée-Conti wine!"

"Oi! When did you start talking back to me again?! I thought I got rid of that habit of yours, idiot apprentice!"

"You did, but it came back when you knocked me out, ran away...and left me in INDIA!" Allen replied.

"Let it go already," Cross rolled his eye.

"Let it go?!" Allen repeated incredulously, "How about I hit you over the head with a hammer and see how you like it?!"

"What? Alright, bring it on, idiot apprentice!"

"Even better, why don't I hit you with the hammer, and drag you back to headquarters and make you sit through a dozen...no...a hundred meetings about the cost effectiveness of travelling with no money and racking up so much debt!"

"I'll fight you with just a hammer to get outta that, even if you get a bazooka, I'll never go!"

"I'd make you!"

"No, I'd win."

"No, I'd win!" Allen said.

"No, I'd win!" Cross said, leaning forwards as he and Allen radiated angry auras.

"No, I'd win...with just a hammer, I'll let you have the bazooka."

"I don't want it," Cross yelled, balling his fist in frustration.

"Well, I don't want it! I don't know how to use a bazooka! I want the hammer!"

"Oi! We're not fighting over a hammer, idiot, we're fighting about the fight! I'm the master, so I'd win the fight!"

"No, I would!" Allen shook his head.

"No, I would!"

"I'll find you some hammers if you shut up...I'll even find a bazooka if I have to," Klaud sighed, gathering up the cards from the table.

"Shut it, Klaud, this is a showdown!" Cross yelled at her and turned back to Allen.

"About hammers?! Are you both idiots?!" she rolled her eyes.

"Get up, Allen, even if it's a fight with hammers, a fight is a fight..." the General said with a serious face and Allen suddenly started laughing. "What? This is serious, idiot apprentice, you don't start a fight and then...what the hell is so damn funny?!" he yelled as Allen carried on laughing, even Klaud joined in quietly.

"I...it's...it's just..." Allen said between laughs, "Your...your face...about hammers...sorry, master...it's just...you'd seriously...you'd really fight me with a hammer, wouldn't you?" he chuckled.

"Damn right I would, and you know it," Cross growled when his apprentice laughed again.

Allen couldn't help but laugh. In the past his master's attitude had prompted only anger and frustration from him, but for some reason he could now laugh at it, when he wasn't seemingly scolding the man for trying to drink himself out of his liver at Allen's expense, that was.

"Okay, but I guess it'll have to wait till we actually find some hammers," the boy chuckled.

"None of that, now go out and get some of 'em, or we'll never settle this!"

"...Somehow, I think I can live with that," Allen mumbled and Timcanpy nodded as he flapped his wings on Allen's head.

"You're against me too, damn traitor," Cross scowled at the golem and leaned back against the headboard of the bed."Y'do know he's only winning 'cos he's cheating," he said to Klaud.

"I know, I'm trying to figure out how!" she replied.

"You'll never see how," Allen chortled darkly, "I've perfected the most perfect cheating technique, 100%. No one in the world can beat me."

"...Are you really fifteen?" Klaud frowned at the dark aura.

"...Sixteen," he replied quietly.

"Oh...well, erm...when...when was your birthday?" she asked, startled by his sudden change in demeanour.

"December...no...I guess I'm not really sure anymore," Allen muttered, furrowing his brow.

Allen never known his real birthday, but he and Mana had decided to make it December 27th, because that was the day Mana had started calling him 'Allen', two days after he was adopted. He'd never known his real birth date; having been given up as a baby the only people who knew it hadn't seen fit to leave him any means of finding out. But now that Mana's love was being called into question, everything that Allen knew was being turned upside down, even things as simple as his name and birthday. It was startling to think just how much one man had shaped his life.

"So...another round?" Klaud asked the boy with a forced smile. She could she that some thing had made him uncomfortable and the General believed she knew what it was vaguely about, but she wasn't about to voice a question.

"...Actually...I think I'd rather get some sleep...sorry," Allen gave Klaud a small smile.

"I guess I'll have to crack your cheating secret another time," she smiled back and he only nodded weakly.

As she put the deck of cards back onto the small table they'd been using and the room finally quietened from lack of conversation, the sounds of loud voices and noises started to filter through from outside, able to make themselves known now that the room was silent.

"Picked a fine time to sleep, kid," Cross grumbled.

"...Just my luck..." Allen sighed, pulling the hood of his cloak up over his head in a feeble attempt to block out the noise. Not only would he have to contend with the noise, he was having to sleep in one of the uncomfortable wicker chairs because he'd lost so many cards games to his master.

Cross, in an attempt to prove to himself that he wasn't in fact going soft, had been ignoring the voice in his head that was trying to scold him for making his apprentice - his wounded apprentice, sleep in a wooden chair while he lounged on the bed, fully awake. He knew that Klaud disapproved of this as well, but it only made him more determined to prove that he was just as heartless as he'd ever been, but he wondered just how long he could hold out under his own irritating, vocal conscience.

However, the noise from outside only made it more difficult for him to think, and it made his anger mount. "What is all that damn noise?!" he growled, pushing himself up from the bed and storming over to the window. He tore back the curtains and he blinked in surprise for several seconds. "Heh...your bad luck's making things very difficult for us, idiot apprentice," he smirked ruefully as he stared out at the street.

* * *

The Earl stood a few metres away from his new, pulsating Akuma Egg with a large grin on his face. Despite the deep fury he felt burning in his mind towards Nea Walker's plan, which the Noah had somehow managed to hide from him for so long, the Earl couldn't help but feel enthralled. Here was a perfect opportunity for him to create yet more misery in the world and it was all thanks to the Fourteenth.

When Allen Walker finally succumbed to the will of Nea, there would be dozens of people who would be consumed by misery and hatred. And so, in trying to defeat him, the Fourteenth was giving his foe the ultimate weapon. He would destroy the Musician and he would create misery. Things always turned in his favour no matter what people tried, and it wasn't like the child didn't deserve his anger for destroying his last precious Egg anyway.

"Hurry up and hatch, my lovely," he said, placing his hand on the glowing blue surface of the Egg, "We can't start the fun without you."

"Sir," he heard Lulu Bell speak from a short distance away.

"Yes?" he asked, turning slowly.

"There's something that might interest you...concerning Allen Walker."

"Oh, not that boy again," he sighed, "I'd much rather talk to my Egg for a while than hear anything else about him again."

"It does not concern the Fourteenth," the Noah replied, "...There was an Akuma attack not far from Dover, and I believe that Generals Cross and Klaud were the reasons their attack failed. But, more importantly, I've received word that there is a Level Three Akuma - incognito, headed towards Calais. The boy is unlikely to miss it with his cursed eye. I wondered if you wanted to...amuse yourself."

"Hmmm," the Earl started to smile, "Well...after every kindness he and his master have shown me, it'd be impolite not to give something back, wouldn't you say?"

"I should remind you, sir, that the boy is capable of defeating a Level Three without the aid of a General."

"Yes," he nodded, "I see what you're getting at, Lulu...perhaps we should level him up, just so he can give them an interesting send off from Calais."

"Is there time for that, Earl-sama?"

"...Maybe not...but at the very least he can send them a message from us," the Earl gave her a smile.

"Very well, sir," Lulu Bell nodded.

* * *

Outside the public house, people were walking quickly through the streets and there were many people talking excitedly as they passed the building, and Cross soon discovered why. A large banner was being hung which explained it all in very simple terms.

What he hadn't known, or had any way of knowing when he chose to lead Allen and Klaud to Calais, was that the town's annual fair, that traversed the entire North of France, was moving in and the day was dedicated to setting it up for the night. Said night would be very crowed and very bright; not what he and Klaud had intended when they meant to leave the town later. And because they had kept their distance from the townspeople, choosing to remain hidden in their rooms rather than 'reconnoiter', they only found out about the fair when the noise from outside the building became too noticeable.

However, in one way, it worked in their favour because with so many people visiting the town, some no doubt in outfits and costumes that would outshine even Cross' long red hair or Allen's strange scar, no one would pay any attention to them.

"Argh! Why won't they be quiet?!" Cross growled quietly to himself.

"It's the middle of the day, you can't expect silence, especially when there's a fair planned," Klaud hissed, "We weren't to know, but at least it means we won't have a hard time leaving."

"I've a good mind to go down there and shoot 'em all," the man scoffed, "Damn stupid time of year to be having a fair."

"Urgh, it's pointless talking to you when you're like this," she rolled her eyes, "And are you really going to make your apprentice sleep in that chair?" she sighed.

"Shut up," Cross growled back.

"I know you're just trying to prove a point, but we both know it's useless."

"I don't know what you're talking about, I just wanted to sleep in a bed," he shrugged.

"...I'm still awake, y'know," Allen mumbled. He sat reclining in his chair with his arms crossed and his feet propped up on the table, his chin resting on his chest and his hood covering his face. It wasn't comfortable by any means but he didn't mind, he wasn't about to complain. After everything his master had done for him already he could hardly begrudge the man use of a mattress for the day.

"Good for you," Cross said to Allen.

Now that he was able to focus on his thoughts rather than playing poker or verbally sparring with his master, Allen could more clearly hear Maria's song in his head but it was a strangely comforting sound.

"Cross," Klaud scolded the man, but he only turned his head away from her and scoffed. "He's wounded and he needs his rest," she said.

"I need sleep too," the General replied childishly.

"...Then please stop talking and rest," Allen groaned before either of the Generals could say anything else.

"Gah!" Cross cried, "Alright, alright, I'll let you have the damn bed!" he muttered, standing up from the mattress and hovering, like a wraith, in front of Allen.

"I'm fine here," the boy said simply.

"No, you're not, now get up!"

"I'm...argh...what are you doing?" Allen cried as his master hoisted him up over his shoulder, like a sack of potatoes, and then dropped him on the mattress. His cowl fell from his head and the cool air hit him immediately through the now open folds of his cloak that had been jostled about, like him.

"There, that wasn't so bad, now, was it?" Cross chuckled at the disgruntled look on the boy's face as he took Allen's place in the wicker chair.

"Will you ever grow up?" Klaud sighed dramatically at the man.

"Why do you have to keep dropping me?" Allen muttered, trying to get comfortable.

"Maybe if you were a bit taller it wouldn't be so easy," Cross answered him.

"Well excuse me for being short!" Allen yelled, "...Wait...I'm not actually that short!" he added a second later.

"Sure...whatever," the General nodded with a smile.

"Why does everyone have to make fun of my height? There's nothing wrong with my height," the young Exorcist mumbled, once more pulling his fallen hood over his head and shifting himself so that he was lying with his head on the pillow.

"...I'll see if I can get us something to eat," Klaud dismissed herself.

"Bring some wine with you," Cross told her before she left, but she chose not to reply, "...Women," he scoffed.

* * *

As the sun began to set and darkness crept into the town the Generals and Allen left their lodgings and ventured out into the town, intending to find horses and leave as soon as they could. There was already a crowd gathered for the Fair and much of it was set up and trading already.

But before they'd gotten far Allen suddenly felt the gears in his left eye whir into being and he brought a hand up to attempt to hide his eye underneath his hood as he used his other to look around at the people walking past him. Before he realised what he was doing, Allen ran as fast as he could but because the crowd was so dense, and the Fair so vast, the Generals quickly lost sight of the boy, despite their best efforts not to.

He ran towards the soul of the Akuma he could see, past the people and the Fair stands and colourful tents. It didn't take long for him to find the Akuma and he came to a stop at a tent set up a distance away from the others, it was mostly made of black and purple fabrics and there was a banner that read; 'The Amazing Medium.' He ran into the tent and at once, found what he was looking for. There was a young woman wearing a simple dress of dark cotton with lace sleeves talking to a man who was really no man at all.

"Can I help you?" the woman asked him as he stood there, "You're a little early, we're still setting up. Are you here for a séance?"

"...I..." Allen breathed, his eye focusing on the nameless man.

"Is something wrong?" the woman asked him kindly.

"...Please...listen to me..." he said quietly, "Please...get away from that man...he's...not what you think..."

"What?" she scoffed, "Look, kid, I don't know who you are, but..."

"Please, please just get away from him."

"You must be mistaken," she said, indulgently.

"No! He's an Akuma! He's not human!" Allen yelled, realising that it probably wasn't the best idea.

He held his breath though as the man changed in an instant from human to Akuma right inside the tent. It was a smaller version of the Level Three he'd fought in the Asian Branch but it looked slight different. Before it could even attack him or the woman, it's form started to warp and mangle, its limbs were twisting and cracking and its eyes were ferocious.

The woman blinked as she heard the strange, bone cracking noises from behind her, and she slowly turned around. "...W...what..." she stammered, too shocked to move.

"What's...what's happening to it?" Allen breathed, unable to take his eyes from it. He could see the bound soul warping with the Akuma's form and, vaguely, he could see just what was happening, "It's...evolving..." he muttered, raising a hand to his mouth. The sight of a soul of a Level Four was still, in his opinion, the most grotesque thing he'd ever seen in his life.

Something about this evolution struck him as different from the first time he'd seen it. It seemed to be struggling with itself, and the two levels were at odds with each other within the same form. In the back of his mind Allen knew he should be attacking the enemy but it was such a mind numbing scene that he could only breathe and watch.

"Arghhhhhhhh!" the woman screamed, and this shocked Allen from his trance.

When it went to attack the woman, a dim, white light enveloped her, like the arms of a human wrapped around her creating a shield which managed to save her. Not having time to dwell on what he'd just seen, Allen willed his Innocence to activate, not knowing whether or not it could properly work, and his vision blurred slightly before the elongated talons appeared on his left hand. He swiped his at the Akuma, which was still caught between forms. He knew that if he didn't defeat it before it fully became a Level Four, then he'd lose.

"...The Earl...sends his...regards..." he heard a shifting voice whisper to him and his eyes widened as the Akuma batted him away like a fly. His back hit a hard surface and he held his bones quiver and his wounds screamed at him to stop. Instead, he jumped up again and even though the Akuma was unstable in its form still, it swayed Allen aside again and he was thrown clear out of the tent.

Cross and Klaud had been checking each tent and they had just reached the tent of the Medium as Allen was thrown from it and he landed at their feet. "And just what were you thinking, running off, idiot apprentice?" Cross asked him, staring down as Allen pushed himself up on his elbows.

"...Akuma..." the boy managed to say, trying to point at the tent, "...Something wrong..."

Klaud helped him to his feet while Cross walked towards the tent and ripped back the curtains concealing the entrance. The woman inside was moving slowly away from the akuma that was writhing at the far end. Klaud moved to stand beside Cross with Allen behind her just as his Innocence vanished.

The way the soul of the Akuma was twisting and writhing was too much to watch and because he had precious little energy or concentration to waste, he couldn't stop his mechanical eye from working overtime and showing his master and General Klaud from seeing it too.

"What the..." Klaud muttered, taking in the mutating form of the akuma's soul. She'd heard about Allen's ability to see their souls of course, but she never expect to see them for herself. The General glanced back at him and saw the gears over his eye and then she looked back at the Akuma.

Cross pulled out his gun and fired at it before it could attack. This time it couldn't even defend itself and it let out a piercing cry of anger as it died, "Humph," the man scoffed, "Let's go," he said to Allen who had fallen to his knees.

"...It...it said...the...the Earl...he...knows where we are...he..." Allen muttered.

"That was probably his idea of a present," the General replied calmly.

"...Master...that woman...something...something protected, I don't know what..."

"Hmmm?" Cross turned to find the woman in question shaking where she stood. Nothing appeared unusual about her. She was of course in shock like everyone was after first seeing an Akuma, but Allen knew that there was something different about her. He'd seen it. "She human?" his master asked him.

"...Yeah..." Allen nodded, trying to stand up.

Klaud took careful steps to the shivering woman and led her to sit amongst the numerous cushions on the floor. "Are you alright?" she asked kindly.

"Wha...what...what was...that...that thing...where's...where's Claude?" the woman stammered.

"We don't have time for this, we need to get moving," Cross dragged an impatient hand through his hair.

"We can't just leave her like this," Allen whispered to him.

"...Your bad luck just keeps on getting better and better."

"How is this my fault?"

"You ran off!" the General growled.

"Please," Klaud hissed at them, "Not now," she said and Allen had the sense to quietly apologise before sitting down beside the two women.

"Erm...miss..." he addressed the Medium, "Can you tell me...what was that light...what saved you?"

"...It was the spirits," she said simply.

"That's not something I've heard 'spirits' do before," Cross mumbled and Klaud scowled at him for a second.

"What spirits?" Allen asked her.

"I've...I've always been able to see them...not everyone believes me...but Claude did. I met him at a Fair...and I started working with them...why...why did this happen?" she cried, "Where is Claude?"

"...Erm...he's..." Allen sighed.

"Dead," Cross told her, taking the duty on himself. "He's probably been dead a good long while."

"...What?! But he's been traveling with me for years!"

"Maybe so, but that thing wasn't Claude. It was an Akuma," the General said.

"...Akuma...that monster...that wasn't Claude..."

"No," Klaud said, "It wasn't."

"...Did he lose someone close to him recently?" Allen asked her.

"No, not that I know of...the only family he has is his sister and he told me she went to England for work a few months ago," they heard her say and Cross shot Allen a knowing look to which his apprentice could only sigh in response.

"What's your name?" Klaud asked the woman.

"Gabrielle Inez..."

"Gabrielle!" a cluster of voices began shouting from outside the tent, "Gabrielle!"

A group of about a half dozen of the Fair workers ran into the tent and one of them men stopped forwards, "What was all that noise? Are you alright?" he asked her.

"...Yes...yes, I'm fine," she answered.

"Good, then we'll be off..." Cross muttered, taking Allen's upper arm in a tight grip, daring the boy to question him.

"Just who are you people?" Gabrielle asked quickly, "How did you..."

"Sorry to bother you, but we have to go," the General said evasively.

"It's not like we need to run around if the Earl knows where we are anyway," Allen said quietly.

"It wasn't him that put you in a prison," his master muttered back.

"'Ere, miss, are these people causin' you trouble?" one of the workers asked Gabrielle as they all stared at the Generals.

"Erm...no...no it's fine...it's nothing...please, I'm fine," the young woman managed to say and they left, albeit reluctantly. "Please, tell me...Claude...is he really..." she said to the Generals after the workers had left. They didn't need to say anything in reply, she understood from their expressions and she couldn't help but cry quietly to herself.

"Master...I don't know what it was...if it was Innocence it wasn't like any I've ever seen...it looked...human...almost...like a ghost," Allen frowned as he spoke as quietly as he could while Klaud attempted to console the grieving woman. "But if it was...what should we do...shouldn't we send her to the Order...to check or something?"

"Idiot," Cross grunted, pulling his apprentice aside, "You're determined to get us caught, aren't you?"

"I..."

"If we send her to the Order, Rouvelier'll find out we're here and it won't take him long to try and drag us back there as well."

"But she's..."

"If you hadn't gone running off we could've dealt with this quietly," Cross sighed.

Allen was about to protest, but he knew his master was right. He hadn't thought at all when he'd ran off after the Akuma, but he'd gotten so used to acting on his own without Cross there, and he'd come to rely on his own Innocence so much as well, that he tended to act first without thinking...Also it didn't help that his mind was in turmoil or that his body recovering, or even that he was starving.

"...Sorry..." he mumbled, "I wasn't thinking...I'm sorry."

"...Just...tell me these things...before you go running off next time," the General said. He could hardly reprimand the boy after all he'd been through lately, and perhaps it was partly his own fault as well. He'd been paying so much attention to the crowds and potential threats that he hadn't noticed Allen's distress or seen his eye activate, so by the time the boy had started running, the sheer numbers of people surrounding them had made it almost impossible to catch up. Luckily, Timcanpy had greatly aided in locating Allen.

"Mmm," the boy gave a small nod. He and Cross could hear Klaud explaining the details of the Akuma and the Millennium Earl to an, understandably teary, and somewhat fearful Gabrielle.

"Will...will it happen again? Will one of...them...come after me again? How will I..." she stammered.

"I don't think you were the target," Cross sighed, "You probably don't need to worry."

"...Probably..." Gabrielle repeated, afraid.

"Almost likely," the man reiterated, "But there's one sure way of checking," Cross said, "Tim, you know what to do," he said to the golem.

Timcanpy bobbed up and down in the air as though nodding and he flew over to Gabrielle. A dim, yellowish light started to shine from the cross on his small body and it seemed to scan the Medium's body. She couldn't help but feel uncomfortable but it lasted only a fraction of a second.

The golem then flew back to the General and opened his mouth to show his findings to him. "She's not a host," Cross told Allen immediately, "She's no interest to the Earl."

"But...then, what was..."

"People find ways of protecting themselves, it doesn't always involve Innocence; she's a latent sorcerer. He has magic aplenty so he doesn't need hers. It's just a coincidence," he shrugged, "Now we can go."

"But we should tell the...them...shouldn't we? Isn't there some way of..."

"Alright, fine...I have a way of contacting...someone...but we'll be putting ourselves at risk. And whether you like it or not, we're leaving as soon as we've done that," Cross scowled. "We'll tell 'em...outside," he added, clearly not wanting to discuss anything further in front of Gabrielle. He and Klaud made to leave the tent and Cross silently gestured for his apprentice to do the same.

"Wait...you did save my life...isn't there anything I can do to thank you?" Gabrielle said suddenly.

"Just don't ever mention we were here," Klaud said simply, leaving the tent.

"I'll...erm...I'll be right there," Allen said in his most convincing tone. Of course, to his master it wasn't at all convincing and he scrutinised the boy with his best stare, "Really," Allen smiled.

"Hurry up," Cross growled and he followed Klaud outside.

Gabrielle regarded him with a curious gaze as he waited until the curtains of the tent fell still before turning to face her. "Are you...really a Medium...can you really talk to the dead?" Allen asked her suddenly.

"...I can," she nodded.

"Then...maybe there is something you can do..."

* * *

A.N. Yes, I know I'm cruel, another cliffhanger. And yes, I did invent Tim's little X-ray visiony thing, but I think it works. Let me know what you think.


	10. Human Mistakes Abound

**Chapter 9 : _Human Mistakes Abound._**

* * *

"What is it you want me to do?" Gabrielle asked Allen. He was breathing heavily and his movements were almost erratic as he stalked the length of the tent.

"I need to talk to someone...someone who died..." he explained, "And there's not much time," he added, looking back at where his master and Klaud had exited the tent.

"I...don't work like other Mediums. I don't call the spirit to speak through me, I make a sort of...bubble...if you like...where the spirit comes to us and anyone who enters the tent can see it as well. Claude made sure that people didn't walk in when I was using this...power..."

"Can you use it now?" Allen said quickly, "My...adoptive father...died...and something...happened. I need to understand something, and this could be my only chance...please..."

"What about your friends?" Gabrielle glanced towards the entrance, "Aren't they expecting you to follow them?"

"This is important to me," Allen begged, "Please...I need to do this myself."

"Alright, I did say...didn't I?" she said kindly, "Come, sit beside me," Gabrielle smiled, patting the cushions next to her.

Allen took a deep breath and quickly sat beside the Medium, "Now, think about this person, and give me your hand," she held out her right hand and he placed a shaky hand in her own.

Within a fraction of a second the small interior of the tent, previously decorated in dark colours and illuminated by candles now seemed to contain an endless graveyard, filled with headstones of every shape and size. It was a dark place that was completely silent, and there was a low mist covering the ground. Things faded away at the limits of the tent and Allen could still faintly see the furnishings, like translucent ghosts floating inside the graveyard.

"This is the world between worlds," Gabrielle said, "Every soul passes through here after death. I will warn you; you might not like what you hear. All morals are removed from the spirit and they speak their mind. It's not false, what they say - it's what they truly feel, but it's not always what they intend to say."

"...I..." Allen breathed, taking in his strange surroundings.

"It's not too late to turn back."

"...How do I find him?" he asked.

"Say his name," she replied, "And he'll come."

"...Mana...Mana Walker...it's me...it's Allen..." he murmured nervously.

A short distance away, the leaves on the ground started to fly upwards in spirals and the wind started to sing. A form started to emerged from this chorus of wind and leaves. It began to shape the image of a man, it gave him corporeal form and Allen couldn't breathe.

It was Mana Walker, wearing the travel worn, much repaired, grey suit and top hat that Allen remembered so well. The man was standing with his back to them and Allen could already feel tears threatening to fall from his eyes. "Mana," he breathed, frozen to the spot. He was torn between two conflicting emotions; anger and love, he was angry at Mana and yet he stilled loved him.

"Long time no see, Allen," the man said simply.

"It...really is you?" the boy smiled, taking a step towards Mana.

"It's me," Mana answered.

"I missed you."

"...I see."

"...What's...what's wrong?" Allen frowned at the Mana's uninterested tone of voice.

"You. You disappoint me. You're still...you."

"What? I don't...what'd you..."

"...And it wasn't enough for you to turn me into a an Akuma, you have to disturb my eternal rest as well."

"Huh?" Allen's eyebrows rose, and he froze on the spot.

"What a disappointment."

"What?" Allen said, shakily, taking a step back, "What are you talking about?"

"You expected me to be...pleased...to see you?"

"...I..."

"Idiot apprentice?!" Cross' loud, gruff voice suddenly called out, "What's taking so...long..." he broke off. He and Klaud had, as Gabrielle feared, ran back into the tent after Allen, and in so doing, with no one to stop them, had entered the word between worlds that she could conjure up. "What the hell is this?!" he yelled.

Mana turned around on hearing the General's voice, and for one of a handful of times in his life, Cross found himself speechless. For about three seconds. "You?! You bastard! What the hell's going on?" he growled at the man.

"Is that any way to treat an old friend? After all not everyone gets an opportunity like this, but if you don't mind, I was in the middle of an important conversation with my son," Mana sneered at him before turning back to Allen, "I assume, by now he's told you the truth."

"What did you do?" Cross hissed at Gabrielle.

"What he asked me," she replied, glancing at Allen, "He said it was important."

"That idiot," the General sighed, "Get us out of here, now!"

"I can't, the spirit has to say his peace first," the Medium frowned.

"Make an exception," Cross ordered.

"I can't," Gabrielle insisted, "It doesn't work that way."

"...Why me?" Allen asked Mana.

"...You were there..." Mana answered with a shrug.

"...That's it?"

"That's it," the man repeated.

"...Then...it was...it was all...a lie?"

"I suppose so. I can't remember some things very clearly after...he...died...all I wanted was..."

"Revenge," Allen finished, knowingly. Against all hope he'd been wishing for a happy reunion, not this cold snub from his adoptive father.

"Yes."

"I see..."

"Do you?"

"...You never cared about me; everything you taught me was to make me into him...the symbols - you taught me about them...you made sure I got it right..."

"He meant everything to me!" Mana bellowed angrily, "The Earl took my brother away. He made my brother a Noah and then he killed him. We swore that no matter what it took we would have our revenge!"

"What if I don't want any part in your revenge?" Allen scoffed and Mana chuckled darkly.

"You don't have a choice, boy, you never did. You'd only have died on the streets anyway, it's not as though anyone else would've taken you in, you know that. This way we all got something we wanted. You got to live a few extra years and my brother and I will finally get our revenge."

"That's..."

"Had some fun though, didn't we? Isn't that what life's all about?

"Bastard," Cross murmured.

"Don't act so high and mighty, Marian, you're the same as me. You only took the boy as an apprentice because you knew what he was, what he'd become. At least I treated him like a child, I gave him the opportunity to have a childhood that would've been cut short like so many other penniless urchins on the streets. I gave you," Mana turned to Allen, "I gave you what you wanted. I am your father, I'm the only father you ever had or ever will have, whether you like it or not. I gave you a name. I gave you a birth date. I gave you an education. I shaped your personality. I made you who you are. No one can take any of that away."

"Stop this now!" Cross growled at Gabrielle who tried to take them back to their own world. The graveyard around them began to fade away for a minute but then it came back and the Medium's eyes went wide.

"You're not my father," Allen hissed at Mana, "You're a monster."

"I'm no more a monster than you," Mana replied, "Isn't that what they used to call you? The boy with a cursed arm? A monster? A demon?"

"What happened?!" Cross demanded from Gabrielle.

"...I told you, I can't stop it. This spirit's different...he doesn't want me to. He's strong," she said to Cross.

Allen couldn't find his voice. He wouldn't know what to say if he could speak, he was too shocked. All he could do was stand and watch Mana's face increase in anger, and he felt sure that he'd probably soon end up falling to the floor on his knees.

"If I was a monster before, what does that make me now?" Mana said to Allen and his body erupted, spiralling outwards in the leaves and the wind from which it had been formed. "Remember this?" a warped voice spoke and before Allen could process what had been said his eyes went wide and his heart rate sky rocketed.

The metal body used to trap the soul, that Allen had seen almost every night in his dreams - in his nightmares, was suddenly before him again. Allen began moving backwards, away from Mana, but because he wasn't looking, he quickly tripped and fell to the ground, "Not again..." he muttered. He hadn't felt this much fear even when he'd been kidnapped or tortured in the Tower. Even fighting the Level Four hadn't been as terrifying as this. It was his childhood fear, the first thing that ever really scared him and it had certainly left all kinds of scars.

"It's all true," Mana said to Allen, "Yes, you will become the Fourteenth. Yes, it's what I intended for you all along. Yes, as a result, you will die and no, I'm not sorry. That's what you wanted to know, isn't it?"

"That's enough. If you won't get us out, I will," Cross said, turning from Gabrielle and raising his hand, "...On..." he murmured.

A small pale blue light emerged from his right fingertips and it began to form a large circle; a magical doorway that, he was fairly sure, would lead back to the tent. He'd used this ability when he'd been in the Ark to move within it, but he'd never tried to go from one world so to speak, to another, so he couldn't be sure it would work, but anything was better than letting Mana destroy what was left of Allen's spirit. If he hadn't already succeeded in doing so.

A second later though, that became the least of the General's worries when Mana raised his right arm, which now had a sharp scythe-like weapon instead of gloved fingers. Allen was shaking but he was frozen to the spot, he made no move to defend himself as Mana angled his weapon. But before he could harm Allen, Cross, using his left hand, fired Judgement and the bullet blew the right arm straight off from the metal body.

"Allen, get up!" the General ordered his apprentice, his right hand still using magic to form the doorway.

Mana cried out in anger and turned his attention to the multitasking General who let out a frustrated hiss when his apprentice made no move to do as he'd ordered. "Get the kid," he said to Klaud, "And you," he turned to Gabrielle, "Jump in there," the man gestured to the fully formed portal.

"What? What is..."

"Just do it!" Cross growled, raising his gun towards Mana again, "...Unless you'd rather stay," he added slyly and she shook her head.

Klaud meanwhile, had run across to Allen and managed to pull him up from the ground, but he still wasn't taking his eyes off Mana. He couldn't, he was in shock all over again. He couldn't really continue denying that his worst nightmare wasn't just a nightmare anymore; it was real. His master had been telling the truth, and as much as he wanted to, Allen couldn't deny what he saw. Of course. It could all be a big trick on Gabriella's part, but what reason would she have to do such a thing? She didn't even know who they were, let alone just who, or what Mana was, so it was impossible that she was making it all up to torment him.

"Allen, come on," Klaud spoke to him, but he wasn't taking her words in. The only thing in his world at the moment was the sight of Mana with one arm blown off and his eyes shining red with furry.

Klaud didn't bother trying again. Instead she dragged the boy as quickly as she could over to Cross. Gabrielle had already gone through the portal and Allen, 'encouraged' by his master was the next to go through it. He shot one last look back at Mana and he was about to speak but Cross pushed him back through the doorway and he was gone before he could even think about what to say.

"You never should have told him anything," Mana said to Cross.

"He was staring to see Nea," the General shrugged, his gun still aimed at Mana.

"That's what's meant to happen."

"...You shouldn't have picked him," Cross glared.

"I never knew you cared," Mana scoffed.

"You certainly never did."

"Cross, we have to go," Klaud said to him, but he ignored her.

"At least I acted as though I did, so which of us was more cruel; me for not caring and pretending I did, or you for caring and concealing it? Makes a person think, doesn't it?"

Cross suddenly and without warning, fired one more bullet at Mana and it hit him in the forehead, right in the middle of the glowing red calligraphy that had once tied the man's soul to the 'puppet' body.

"Y' always did talk too much," the man snarled as Mana fell to the ground and faded away. Of course the man wasn't really harmed. He was already dead, this was only his spirit and it was impossible to kill a spirit, even if one was were a General. "Now we can go," he said to Klaud, putting his gun away.

He and Klaud walked into the glowing light and found themselves back inside Gabrielle's tent. Cross closed the doorway immediately and saw that the Medium herself was sitting down, breathing heavily, trying to take everything in, including the earlier loss of her friend, and Allen stood frozen with Tim flapping his wings around his head, trying and failing to get the boy's attention.

"We're leaving, now," Cross said sternly.

"I'm sorry...truly...if I'd known...I never would've...that's never happened before..." Gabrielle explained, feeling guilt and grief well up.

"It wasn't your fault," Klaud replied before Cross could say anything to the young woman. "It wasn't," she repeated, staring sternly at him, daring him to contradict her.

Cross only grumbled quietly to himself and walked over to Allen who still hadn't moved an inch from where he stood. "Oi," the man murmured, coming to stand in front of the boy in an attempt to snap him out of his daze. When it was clear that Allen wasn't going to respond, the General raised his hand and with some level of reluctance he brought it down quickly to slap his apprentice across the face. The sound resounded in the tent and the force and shock combined were enough to knock Allen to the floor.

Allen blinked slowly, as though only just waking up after a long sleep, the stinging pain on the right side of his face was the first thing he noticed as he used his arms up push himself into a sitting position.

"...That hurt!" Allen growled, staring up at his master, "...Bastard..." he muttered.

"This is no time to freeze up," Cross hissed, "Now move," he added in a growl and hauled the boy to his feet. He more or less dragged Allen from the tent, leaving Klaud to make their goodbyes and, or explanations as she saw fit. He, personally didn't care whether she did explain things or not. He had enough to worry about with his apprentice.

"Let me go!" Allen protested, trying to get Cross to let go of his arm and stop pulling him along like a stubborn mule through the crowded fair.

"You don't get to speak," his master replied condescendingly, "Not yet, not till I say so. So quiet down."

"Why'd you have to..."

"I said be quiet!" Cross repeated, with even more venom, "Just because there's people about doesn't mean I won't beat you up, you know that."

"...But I..."

"Last warning."

"I...mmmm..." Allen stammered, deciding it was best to keep quiet. It was obvious to even a blind man, that he had greatly angered his master and he didn't want to end up on the receiving end of the General's fury if he could possibly help it.

Cross lead him to a deserted alleyway with Klaud following not far behind them and he found a quiet tavern, one of many in such a large city as Calais and all had the same melancholy atmosphere as each other. Once inside, the General pushed Allen to sit at one of the tables. He regarded the boy, who had fallen into the wooden chair with a look on his young face of pure defeat and submissiveness, and then the General turned to Klaud.

"You keep an eye on him," Cross sneered, "I'll find us some horses," he said, storming off, taking Timcanpy with him.

Klaud let out a deep breath and she sat opposite Allen at their small, grubby table by an equally dirty, small, lead lined window. Allen rested his arms on the table and out his head atop them, sending out a clear message that he didn't want to speak. If what he had seen was true, then almost everything he could remember about his life was a lie and that his truest friend in the world, hadn't really been so at all. It was a wound he didn't think would ever heal up, and to top it all off, his master seemed to hate him again. In spite of everything he thought that they'd been beginning to get along - in some sense, and because of his need to see Mana, he'd messed everything up without meaning to.

"He's really angry with you, you know," Klaud said quietly, and he just turned his head in his hands to hide his face as much as he could. "He doesn't hate you, he's worried about you, he doesn't want you to get hurt."

"Humph," Allen scoffed.

"I've known him longer than you, I think I can tell," she told him with confidence.

Even though she had indeed known Cross for longer than Allen, along with the other Generals, the man was still a mystery to them, but after she'd all she'd seen in the last few days she'd learned one, incredible fact. Cross Marian cared about his apprentice. But unfortunately, he was like many men in that he didn't express his intentions clearly at all and he wanted to keep that face that he cared, to himself. This meant that he became frustrated when he showed his affection and this lead to angry outbursts, and of course, Allen, already confused and disorientated, wouldn't be able to decipher his master's actions.

"They both hate me," the boy muttered.

"That's not true," Klaud replied.

"...You saw...Mana...Mana tried to attack me...and master..."

"Protected you," she said before he could say anything further, "He was angry because you put yourself in danger."

"...Didn't mean to...didn't know..."

"I know that, and so does he really, but you still shouldn't have done it."

"...I know..." Allen mumbled almost incoherently, "I...wish I...hadn't..." he said, closing his eyes and burying his face further from the world again.

* * *

Deep within the new Headquarters of the Order, in the Science Departments' library, a room in which every wall was a bookshelf and there was a second and third mezzanine with rows upon rows of books leading up to the high ceiling. The floor was coated in several layers of papers and each desk was buried under mounds of books and more papers of research.

Branch Supervisor Komui Lee was sat at his own desk at the far end of the room, sipping from his mug of coffee he regarded the Exorcists sat in front of him on ill matching sofas and chairs. His sister, Lenalee was among them, along with Kanda, Lavi and Bookman, Krory, Marie, Mirands and their newest member Chaozii.

"There's been a considerable number of Akuma sightings in Ireland," Komui said, "...And we need to know why. Lavi, Chaozii, Kanda, you'll be investigating for us with Bookman."

"Chaozii, this'll be your first official mission," Lavi smiled at him when he saw the young man's nervous expression, "It'll be fine, I'll be there to make sure nothing goes wrong," he grinned.

"How can you even think about missions when Allen's still out there?!" Lenalee cried.

"Allen-kun is alive," her brother replied, "We don't have to worry, he's with General Cross; he's safer than we are. But we're still at war, we can't forget that."

"That's true," Lavi turned to his friend.

"I can handle this mission by myself," Kanda frowned.

"Yu, don't be like that..." Lavi began to say.

"We can't take that risk," Komui cut him off seriously, "Chaozii needs the experience in missions but things are even more dangerous than ever. We daren't travel in small numbers but I can't send too many of you because we need to protect Headquarters. It's a difficult situation but we still have our jobs to do."

"...Mmmm," Lenalee reluctantly agreed.

Her brother gave her an understanding smile, before turning back to the others, "You'll need to leave as soon as possible," he told them.

"Right," Lavi gave him the 'thumbs up', "Let's do our best, Yu," he then grinned at Kanda who sneered in frustration at the continued casual use of his first name.

Lavi and the others followed a fuming Kanda from the room to pack for their mission while Komui turned his attention back to the maps spread out across his desk. Their had been reports of increasing Akuma attacks in every corner of the globe, and each one was severe. Almost all of the attacking Akuma were of a higher Level and the closest attack to their location was Ireland. The Supervisor didn't want to, but he needed to send people to investigate and he didn't want to send only one or two people either. At least a larger group would be more likely to survive if things went south, and statistically, they almost certainly would.

* * *

After contacting Komui, like he said he would, General Cross, with no small amount of difficulty, managed to find three horses and he lead them back to the small tavern. It wasn't long before he, Klaud and Allen were riding their respective horses through the town and away from the crowds.

As they rode, Allen was more listless than ever, reminding Cross of the small boy he'd taken to Mother's cottage when he'd first found him, and just like then, he refused to talk. The General had thought that they'd been making progress since coming to Calais; Allen had gradually began recovering his own personality, and the the boy had to go and do something stupid and ruin it all. He supposed it was, like most things, partly his fault, he thought that Allen only meant to talk to Gabrielle, not foolishly, and rashly, use her to talk to Mana.

If Klaud thought he was vigilant of his apprentice before, it was nothing compared to what he intended to be. Clearly he hadn't been doing a very good job; he hadn't thought that the Medium had possessed such an unusual power to make spirit so palpable and he certainly hadn't counted on Allen's desire to see his 'father.' Cross knew he'd never been the best at understanding people but he couldn't help blaming himself for this recent disaster.

He could feel the stirring of his magic working to keep Maria's ability going and if he concentrated enough, he too could hear her singing. It had as much of a calming ability on him as it did with his apprentice and as soon as he began to hear the song, he glanced again at Allen, riding beside him.

The young Exorcist had been shedding silent tears since they left the town, but neither Cross nor Klaud knew what to say to help him. Timcanpy was nestled in Allen's collar and was brushing his tail against the boy's pale face, trying to wipe away the tears that kept appearing, and he occasionally opened his mouth, using his sharp teeth to gently tug at his hair playfully. Allen would briefly look down at the golem but he wouldn't speak.

"Cross," Klaud spoke to the other General a while after they'd left the towns limits, "What was it you had Timcanpy do earlier? Can he tell if a person has Innocence like Hevlaska?" she asked him curiously.

"One of my little modifications," the man shrugged, looking forwards again.

"One of your secret modifications?"

"Naturally," he said simply.

"It would've made life a lot easier for the Order to find new Exorcists if we'd all known about that," Klaud sighed.

"I couldn't go around telling everyone, could I?"

"Apparently not," she rolled her eyes, "Any other secrets the Order doesn't know about...apart from the obvious?"

"...A few," Cross admitted.

"Don't you get confused about just which side you're on half the time?" Klaud asked him with exasperation.

"I'm on my own side," he grinned, "Where I've always been."

"...And that's why they don't like you."

"I don't like them," Cross shot back, making her sigh again at his attitude, and effectively ending their conversation.

"...We can't keep buying horses, you know," she said a minute after, "There's not the money for that."

"It's fine, we'll just stop at a pub and Allen can do his thing," Cross said without a care, "Nah, idiot apprentice, you don't mind being useful, do you?" the man grinned.

But Allen didn't say anything, he didn't even move to acknowledge he'd heard his master speak at all. In fact, when Cross turned back he could see that Allen's horse had slowed down considerably and that it was on collision corse with a very large tree. Timcanpy valiantly tried to get Allen's attention, he even tried to pull the reigns from the boy's grasp using his mouth, but Allen was frozen in his position, and Tim wasn't strong enough.

"Oi!" Cross yelled and swore under his breath when Allen didn't respond.

The General quickly turned his own horse around and galloped across to Allen to pull the reigns from his hands and lead the horse back to the small, unkept path they'd been following. He let out a deep breath and kept hold of the reigns of Allen's horse as his own was forced now to trot to keep the other animal safe. "Watch where you're going!" Cross growled at the boy.

"Hmmm," Allen muttered automatically, still not paying any attention.

"You nearly hit a tree about ten time wider than you!" the General told his apprentice.

"Hmmm," the boy repeated.

"You're not even listening to me," the man sighed, "...This is your fault anyway, so quit trying to make me feel like it's mine," he grumbled.

"Cross..." Klaud began gently, but he ignored her.

"And if you don't start watching where you're going, I'll..."

"...Shut up," Allen murmured inaudibly.

"Huh?" Cross frowned, "What was that?"

"...I said...shut up."

"What?!" the General bellowed furiously.

"If you'd told me about Mana in the first place none of this would've happened," Allen said to Cross, his sorrow transforming into anger.

Wile this new, vocal Allen was a welcome change to the General, he had no desire for a shouting match with a child caught up in grief and confusion, but he had feeling that he wouldn't be able to stop it from happening either way. Though, in his mind, anger was at least a step forwards.

"We've been over this, idiot, you wouldn't have believed me!" Cross ground out.

"But you could've said..."

"I'm not repeating myself all over again..."

"Why'd you let me think...all this time..." Allen said brokenly, "Why didn't you stop me thinking that he...Why didn't I see..."

"You're a kid," the General said, "Kids don't see things. Not your fault you're a kid."

"...But...still..." the young Exorcist mourned. In fact he knew it wasn't his masters' fault, he knew that Mana was the one to blame, but getting himself to fully believe it was another matter. Allen felt like a fool for believing in Mana for so long, he felt like an idiot for all of the times he'd blamed himself for turning the man into an Akuma out of love. Mana didn't deserve any love, and Allen was determined to harden his heart against every memory of false kindness. That, however, was easier said than done.

"...Remember to watch where your going, I'm not going to stop you from hitting another tree," Cross said to his apprentice.

The young boy determinedly blinked away his old tears and gave his master a weak, rueful scoff as he gave a gentle tug at the reigns of his horse. Cross released them from his grasp, letting Allen steer the animal by himself again.


	11. Resigned to Nightmares

**Chapter 10 : Resigned to Nightmares.**

* * *

It was a few hours before dawn when Cross finally deemed them far enough from the town to stop and rest, which came as very welcome news indeed to Allen. He dropped from his horse and without even tethering it safely to one of the many trees, he simply shuffled a few feet away from the animal, lay on the ground and was asleep almost instantly.

"Not that I've any complaints, but I know we're only stopping because the kid was about ready to fall off his horse in sleep," Klaud said to Cross with a knowing gaze.

"We're stopping...because this animal's knackered its foot," the man replied, jumping down from his horse. He knelt down to examine the front right hoof of the animal and tried to pretend as though he knew what he was doing.

"You can't fool me," she replied smugly, "I was an animal tamer, remember? I know there's nothing wrong with it."

"What'd you know? It's dark...y'probably can't even see it from over there," Cross murmured, standing up straight.

"If you say so," Klaud shrugged, swinging down to the ground. She tethered her horse a short distance away and Lau Shimin, now fully recovered, jumped out from under her cloak and rubbed his tiny paws together to keep himself warm. Klaud set down her bag and began gathering small twigs and branches for a fire, "He thinks you hate him," she said conversationally as she started setting up the wood in a pile.

Cross sat himself down close to the sleeping Allen who was already showing visible signs of being caught in a nightmare; his breathing hitched and his head was twitching slightly as he screwed his eyes tightly shut. The General sighed sadly and once again covered the boy with his long coat, pausing only briefly to move Allen's white hair from his face in a remarkably tender gesture.

"I remember one time, two of my apprentices got into a serious fight with each other, one of them was hospitalised for a month, and when I asked the other one why they'd been fighting he couldn't even give me a reason. People fight with each other, it's something we're all guilty of...but even then I couldn't find it in me to hate either of them for what they'd done..they were both kids but...even then," Klaud shrugged, sitting back.

Cross tossed her his box of matches and she got the fire going with ease, then she stared into the growing flamed as she continued, "When you see people grow up, and learn, and know that you're responsible for them...you can't help but see them as your own children no matter how hard you try not to. It's not a bad thing to care for them," she said, raising her gaze to look Cross straight in the eye.

"...It is under these circumstances," the man shot back.

"Maybe, maybe not," she shrugged, "But personally I think he deserves a medal for putting up with you for so long, especially if you did your best to be your usual 'charming' self," she scoffed.

"I'm beginning to think you hate me."

"You mean you didn't already know?" Klaud smiled.

"How cruel," Cross grumbled sarcastically, "You're a..."

"...Mmmm..." Allen murmured uneasily in his sleep, stopping the General from speaking further. He glanced down surreptitiously at the boy just as Allen turned over as he slept, continuing to mumble, "...N...n...no..."

"Here we go again," Cross said quietly to himself, dragging a hand through his hair. The thought of having to deal with an emotionally traumatised child again didn't exactly fill him with joy. He'd seen dozens of people scarred for life by their involvement with the Order, but somehow it was worse when he was faced with an emotionally scarred Allen.

"I think he's got a right to suffer from nightmares," Klaud said to him, furrowing her brow in confusion, "So you better get over your fear of children, and quick."

"I'm not scared of children."

"Aren't you?"

"No," Cross scoffed, "He's had nightmares before, he can deal with 'em."

"I saw him wake up from one the other day, looked like he was used to it," she said sadly, "No child should resign themselves to nightmares."

"He's not a kid anymore."

"He's sixteen," Klaud raised an unbelieving eyebrow.

"Young adult. Not kid," Cross translated.

"That's a child lying there, not an adult, Cross, we both know that."

"...Yeah, yeah," he sighed heavily in defeat and moved across, closer to the child. "Oi...wake up..." he murmured, pushing against Allen's shoulder. Even Timcanpy did his bit to wake Allen up and he used his tail to swipe at the boy's face.

"Hmmm? Wha'?" Allen said as he woke up and looked around, "'S still dark..."

"Yeah, s'your turn," Cross replied and his apprentice blinked.

"...What? It's my what?" the boy asked, sitting up slowly.

"Story time round the camp fire," the General smirked, "That's what people do, isn't it?"

"...You woke me up for that?" Allen sighed in disbelief, "...Stupid master," he grumbled, secretly relieved.

In his nightmare he'd been watching Mana laugh at him in Akuma form as he tried to attack him as he ran through the graveyard in which he'd first seen the Earl. He'd been unable to activate his Innocence and he'd been completely powerless while Mana kept laughing at him. Allen was very grateful to have been woken up for whatever reason.

"I'm not telling a story," Allen muttered, pulling his cloak tightly around him, and noticing for the first time, that he also had his master's coat over him as well.

"Yes, you are," Cross replied quickly.

"...What did you talk about, then?"

"The time you tried to catch a lion."

"Eh?!" Allen jumped up, "Why? Why would you even bring that up again?!"

"It was funny," his master smiled and Allen growled.

"It's not funny! Did you know lions smile at you before they eat you? It's true! It smiled right at me and then it tried to eat me! That's not a lie! I swear it was laughing at me...then it tried to eat me!" he exclaimed dramatically with Tim now chomping on the right side of his head. "...Just like that..." Allen pointed up at the golem, sorrowfully, his voice breaking as he shed tears of nostalgia which Klaud found rather amusing.

She tried valiantly to keep her amusement to herself, but she could see Cross glancing at her as she stifled a smile. "I can't look at lions in the same way since then...Why did you have to talk about that?!" Allen moaned.

"It's..."

"Don't say it again! It wasn't funny! What'd you make me do that, anyway? How cruel can you get?!"

"I wanted to see a lion," the man shrugged, "And I never did get to, because you screwed it up."

"It tried to eat me! How was that my fault?!" Allen growled at his master, and brushing Tim off his head.

"Just is," the man said with a smile.

"Grrrr..." the young Exorcist muttered. Then, an evil spark lit up his eyes and he chuckled darkly. He didn't for one moment really believe that the Generals had been 'telling stories round the camp fire', but it was taking his mind of his nightmares and that was more important. Also he had a chance to get back at his master with a funny story of his own, and it wasn't an opportunity he was about to pass up."Then how about the time you got us lost around Loch Ness?" he grinned.

"...We don't need to hear about that..." Cross murmured quickly, looking away and picking up a stick which he threw into the fire.

"I think we do," Allen replied darkly, "It's funny, after all."

"...I didn't get us lost," his master said almost as an afterthought, snapping his head around, "It was that Scotsman's fault for giving me lousy directions."

"That's not the way I remember it."

"You were thirteen, kids that age don't remember things the right way."

"I remember things just fine...despite people hitting me with hammers," he murmured. "And as I remember it, you..."

"Alright, that's enough," Cross spoke over him.

"What? You said I was supposed to tell a story," Allen said innocently.

"Well, now I take it back."

"That's not how it works."

"It is if it say it is," the General ground out and Allen rolled his eyes.

"...Fine, whatever...I'm going back to sleep," the boy murmured, lying back down and pulling his hood over his head. He curled up so that his master's coat covered his completely and icky his face was now hidden from view and he closed his eyes with a mournful expression.

"...I would've liked to listen to that story," Klaud said quietly to a frowning general Cross.

* * *

Before they had a chance to breathe, Bookman, Lavi, Chaozii and Kanda who now had a new Mugen sword to fight with, were travelling by train to reach a boat which would take them to Ireland.

While the others slept a few seats away from them, Bookman was sat opposite Lavi reading over the files and reports about each and every Akuma attack that had occurred in Northern Ireland over the past two months. He noted that the attacks had contained increasing numbers of Level Three Akumas.

"What d'you think about it all?" Lavi asked quietly.

"I'm not sure."

"What about what happened to Allen? What'd you make of that?" the junior Bookman asked. He hadn't yet had an opportunity to ask, and he knew they'd be too busy once they docked.

"Allen Walker is wanted by many people, like his master," Bookman sighed lowering the files he'd been reading to look at Lavi. "But I don't see the logic of kidnapping him. Rouvelier is a fool, he's cost the order one of its best Exorcists and, arguably, its best General...But these attacks..." he tossed the papers aside, "There doesn't seem to be a purpose. There's no reports of supernatural phenomenon to indicate Innocence, so they weren't looking for that. People died but they were original people...the only thing I can think of is the Earl is using their sadness to create more Akuma but I don't know why he'd be so obvious about it."

"He has to know that we'd figure that out," Lavi frowned, "...And why would he send so many Level Three's? If they're not looking for Exorcists, a Level One could do the same job."

"That's true...but maybe he wants to send a message. Like with the Level Four at the Order, if he was saying that he could destroy it whenever he wants to, he could be saying the same thing here. Not everyone from these attacks died, far from it, the vast majority survived each attack, so is he really sending the Order a message?"

"He's upping his game," Lavi raised his brow.

"I believe so," Bookman nodded, "Which means the Order will do the same, and unfortunately, with a new Innocence type, people like Rouvellier will want to 'upgrade' all the Exorcists. That Level Four from the attack on the Order seemed to think that the Earl had something even stronger than it was. I wonder what it could be."

"...If the Earl really could destroy the Order whenever he wanted to why hasn't he? Why is he looking for the Heart if he could destroy all the Innocence anyway? What if he's bluffing?"

"That's a good thought," the old man crossed his arms, deep in thought, "I just don't understand his motives; the Earl. What is he planning?" Bookman let out a deep breath and turned to stare at the passing scenery, with a frustrated expression on his face.

* * *

Inside Allen's dream it was scary, it was dark and it was lonely. He was running for his life through a thick forest, though why he was running, he wasn't quite sure, but it was made difficult because of the brambles and roots beneath his feet in which his boots kept catching.

"...Allen..." the voice called out. The voice of Nea Walker which continued to haunt him.

His master's magic and Maria's ability may be able to save him from Nea's real attacks on his mind, Cross couldn't stop the nightmares that his imagination could conjure up every time he fell asleep.

"No!" the young boy cried, shaking his head.

"...Allen...you can't run..."

"Go away!" Allen yelled, terrified.

"...You cannot stop me..."

"Leave me alone!" the young Exorcist whimpered just before he tripped and fell forwards onto the ground.

He held out his hands to catch himself and he panted as he pushed himself up again, but before he could start running again his face rose up to stare into the cruel eyes of Nea Walker, the Fourteenth Noah, his own personal ghost. "Argh!" he cried, jumping back like a frightened animal.

"There's nowhere you can run," Nea said, "I am you...I will be you..." he grinned.

"...No...you won't...I won't..."

"Yes, you will," Nea replied, his ghostly form glowing and moving forwards to envelop Allen.

"No!" Allen yelled, trying to attack the translucent form of the Noah with his left hand, the bladed claws gleaming menacingly.

He felt his mind being consumed by Nea and his hand just went through the ghostly form. His hands raised to clutch his suddenly aching head and he stared to scream out, trying to force the foreign presence from his mind. "Stop...stop it..." Allen growled, he felt like his whole body was being torn apart by two opposing forces.

The Exorcist pushed himself to his feet and stumbled past the trees and through the overgrowth, as though running would somehow separate him from the ghost invading his mind. He knew it wouldn't make any difference, but he couldn't stop moving forwards. He had to do something, he couldn't just give up.

The soothing sound of water running past, soon met his ears and he fell to the ground again and crawled towards the rivers' edge.

"No..." Allen cried, tears streaming down his face when he was able to see his own reflection. His skin was the greyish tinge of a Noah and the stigmata was plain as day across his forehead.

"Good evening...Fourteenth..." a familiar, jovial voice spoke suddenly and Allen felt his heart go cold along with the surroundings. The forest and the river seemed to darken. The water ran black and the bark and the leaves all changed their colours to black. It was almost like a graveyard.

"...No..." Allen whispered. Beside his own reflection in the now polluted water he could see the smiling face of the Earl and he slowly turned around to stare at him.

"Oi, idiot apprentice," he then heard his master speak from the other side of the river, "I thought you didn't want to die," the man said.

General Cross was standing with his usual confidence, smoking his cigarette, wearing his long black coat that merged him with the scenery. Only his red hair, white mask and pale skin stood out. A, more or less friendly face in the midst of his own dark hell, was a welcome change to Allen, but it seemed as though his master was much farther away than the Earl who was right behind him.

"...I...I..." Allen stammered.

"Allen, don't fight it, you won't win," another voice said. It was Mana's voice. Allen looked around for the man and found him standing the far away, deep within the blackened forest. He felt his own palpable fear as the Earl made an elaborate movement with his right hand and his huge sword appeared as he laughed.

"I won't go easy on you this time, Musician," the Earl said to a speechless Allen.

"Master..." he murmured, "...Help me...please..."

"I'm trying," Cross replied, "But if you're giving up there's no point."

"...I'm not...I'm not giving up..."

"Then get up..." the general ordered and Allen's eyed widened, "Wake up!"

* * *

"Argh..." Allen breathed as he woke. He'd fallen asleep under his hood and under his master coat so he threw them both off violently. He was breathing as though he'd just run a week long, non stop marathon and he felt like he was on fire; it took him a minute to calm himself and get his breathing under control.

Timcanpy flew up to his eye level, concern somehow visible on his small body as Allen looked around. The sky was light and it was around midday, so he knew he'd only been asleep for six or seven hours at most. The fire he remembered seeing burning when he'd last awoke was dead and his master was no where to be seen. Klaud was lightly dozing against a tree with Lau Shimin nestled on her lap. She alert enough to sense danger, but not enough to see that Allen had just woken up, or so the boy assumed.

He sighed and scrubbed a hand through his now greasy hair and wiped the sweat from his forehead as best he could. What he really wanted was a nice bathroom with running water and towels but he wasn't going to get one.

"Hey, Tim," Allen said quietly, "Think you can find me a river or something?" he asked and the golem nodded twice as the boy stood up, "I've gotten too used to indoor plumbing," he bemoaned, "Stupid master, it's his fault for sending me to the Order."

Allen took of his cloak and carefully folded up both it and his masters' coat, then glanced across at Klaud, wondered in he should wake her, but before he'd thought too much about it, she opened her eyes. "I heard you, kid," she said, "And you're right, you do need a bath."

"...Right, thanks...I guess," Allen shrugged hopelessly.

"There's a river, just down that way," Klaud told him, gesturing with her head to the right, "Don't go far. Don't get lost."

"...Thanks..." the boy replied and took off with Tim following him.

It didn't take Allen long to start seeing his dream in his waking hours and his reflection in the clear water seemed to merge into the nightmarish vision he'd seen not so long ago.

* * *

General Cross had hardly slept at all. He'd spent almost the entire night watching as listening to his apprentice whimper and mutter in his sleep. Some would call that strange...or many other things, but the general had found sleeping impossible because he was too worried about Allen to even close his eyes for five minutes. It was annoying that he couldn't even consider his own well being even the smallest amount now.

He'd already had a wash in the river and he'd been been stalking the area around their little 'camp site' for well over an hour and he was very, very bored of glaring at trees. When he returned and found his apprentice gone he couldn't deny that his heart rate went up.

"Oi, where's the kid?" Cross demanded from Klaud.

"Went to the river," she replied, "Tim's following him. I assume you've already bathed because if you haven't you know that if we pass through another town people will remember you purely because of the smell."

"Huh," he scoffed, "Very subtle."

"He had another nightmare...a bad one," Klaud told him, "It's why he woke up. The kid's tough...I wonder what he's seeing that's so terrible."

"It's not hard to guess," Cross replied quickly.

"Mmm," she gave an understanding, half smile and they lapsed into silence.

Just as Cross was about to sit back against one of the trees, they both heard a loud crash come from the distance quickly followed by another and another and another. "What was that?" Klaud frowned, "...Explosions?"

"Let's hope," Cross hissed, storming off after the noise quickly.

Tim found them within seconds and he led the Generals to the river which, along with the surrounding trees, was under attack by Allen and his sword. There were trees which had been felled with ease and the boy's skin was damp from the river water.

He'd left his clothes and bandages at the river bank and, minutes ago, just as he'd been starting to get dressed again, he'd started to see Nea in the water. He'd only had time to out on his trousers before the fear got too much and he'd walked carefully over to the river where his power had exploded. His white cloak covered his whole body and movements were aggressive and wild as he sliced through the trees, using his sword with ease. Across his body the Generals could see green lighting crackling and flowing into the air around him, proof that he was straining his power too much.

By the time they got there, Allen had only been using his power for a few minutes but already he was breathing heavily and soon he couldn't find the strength to swing the sword again or even to hold the weapon upright anymore so he fell to his knees and the end of his large sword dug into the ground.

The young Exorcist was still clutching the handle of the weapon, his forehead leaning against the wide blade and the crackling green power began to slow and fade away. The white cloak fell still against Allen's body and the end lay on the floor as though all the sentient life had been drained from it and it could no longer animate itself.

"You're doing a fine job of helping us stay under the radar, idiot apprentice, anyone within a thousand mile radius will know we're here by now," Cross said.

"I don't...care!" Allen said between breaths, "I've got to...get rid of it."

"Get rid of what?"

"...It!" the boy said as though it were obvious, "It's here...just like in my dream!"

"What is?!" Cross demanded, losing his patience.

"...Him...it..." Allen shook his head, clenching his eyes shut, "It's there!" he cried, raising his sword again at another defenceless tree.

Cross fired a single shot, it hit Allen's massive sword, knocking it from his hands before he could fell the tree. With his concentration already in tatters he didn't stop it from flying across the ground. "Didn't you hear me?!" the General growled furiously, returning the weapon, Judgement, to its holster. "You're giving away our position just because you're angry! Get your emotions under control," he said, rather controversially.

"...I'm not angry," Allen told his master, slowly deciding to meet his gaze.

"Could've fooled me," the General scoffed.

"...It was right there...just like in my..." Allen cried, looking into the water. His reflection was not that of a Noah this time and he furrowed his brow in confusion, "But it was...I was...I saw...I thought I..."

Cross meandered slowly across to the fallen blade and picked it up, no longer surprised by its light weight, he carried it back to his unmoving apprentice. Allen looked up at him and took the weapon silently, he sighed and looked down in defeat. "Hmmm," he hissed as the sword merged back into his shoulder, forming his arm again.

Allen used his right hand to hold his mechanical left arm steady and he felt the strain he'd just exerted on his still recovering Innocence almost as though it were scolding him for his foolishness. "But, I...I swear it really was..."

"...A trick of the light," Cross insisted with a stern look.

"...A...yeah...yeah, I guess..." Allen murmured, hoping, rather than believing that his master was right.

* * *

"How are you so sure that Allen-kun is with the Generals?" Lenalee asked her brother, her arms crossed in a no-nonsense pose.

"Erm...well...that's..." her brother stammered, moving his right and left index fingers in a nervous, steepled gesture.

"We spent so long looking for General Cross...you sent me and Allen-kun...I don't think you'd let him leave without a way to contact him if you could."

"Erm...erm..." Komui's eyes darted around the room.

"That means I'm right!" Lenalee frowned.

"Well, actually..."

"Can I use it? Can I talk to Allen-kun? Please," she asked in rapid succession.

"I...it...it's only for..."

"Please, Nii-san, he's my friend," the young Exorcist begged, and Koumi never had been able to say 'no' to his littler sister when she wanted something.

"Well...alright...but just once, we agreed it was for emergencies only," he sighed in defeat and took his own transmitter from his pocket. He handed it reluctantly to his sister who spoke hopefully into it.

"Allen-kun...Allen-kun..."

* * *

At the same time, the Generals and Allen were sitting resting against the trees in silence. Allen was playing solitaire with a bored expression and Cross was pointlessly polishing his gun when he began to pick up a faint crackling from his transmitter earring. "What..." he murmured, frowning and raised a hand to the ear piece.

"Hmm?" Klaud hummed as her own picked up the same sounds.

"Oi, it's for you," Cross said, taking out his earring and tossing it to Allen.

"Huh?" the boy blinked, examining the earring, "Eh? A transmitter?" he exclaimed, "You had this all along?"

"I did tell you I had a way of contacting Headquarters, didn't I?" the General sighed.

"...But...they can't work that far...can they?"

"These can."

"...Allen-kun?" Lenalee's voice sounded through the transmitter and Allen nearly jumped out of his skin. The earring shot out of his hand and he juggled with it for a few seconds trying not to drop it on the ground while Tim fluttered around ready to catch it.

"Eh? Lenalee?" Allen exclaimed.

"Allen, it is you, are you alright?!"

"...I'm fine..." he replied.

"You're lying," she murmured.

"I'm not, I'm really fine."

"You're a bad liar...why are you always the one..." she said quietly, and Allen panicked, convinced she was crying.

"Don't cry..." he said quickly.

"I'm not crying!"

"...It sounds like you are."

"I am not!"

"Okay, okay, you're not..."

"Ah! Allen made my precious Lenalee cry!" Komui yelled from in the distance.

"I didn't!" Allen yelled back, and he could almost hear the sound of Komui's drills powering up.

"Nii-san..."

"But, but, but, but, but!" the man cried.

"Komui-san..." Allen sighed.

"We've been so worried. Nii-san didn't tell me he could contact you," Lenalee said aloud, shooting her brother a withering look.

"...Lenalee..." the grown man pouted.

"Neither did stupid master," Allen muttered.

"This doesn't really constitute an emergency," Cross grumbled, but he went mostly ignored.

"And we really shouldn't have prolonged contact. Someone could hijack the signal," Komui said before anyone could speak.

"But..." Lenalee protested, "...I know, I know you're right...but..."

"It's fine, they're right," Allen told her, "You can stop worrying now, I'm fine."

"I don't believe that for a moment..."

"Just do one thing for me, Lenalee," Allen said, suddenly serious.

"Eh? What's that?"

"I want you to..." he began, "...Kick Kanda every time he calls me 'bean-sprout'!" he exclaimed in all seriousness.

"Huh?" Lenalee blinked.

"If I'm not there to shout at him he'll have everyone calling me 'bean-sprout' before the month's up!" Allen bemoaned.

"...Allen-kun..."

"It's serious, Lenalee! I've worked too and to keep reminding him that that's not my name! If you don't stop him, all my work'll be for nothing! Make sure you kick him! Really!"

"Erm...right..." she replied.

"You have to make sure you at least yell at him! Promise me!"

"...Yeah...yes...I will...so long as you promise not to do anything stupid."

"I never do stupid things," Allen frowned.

"...Uh-huh," Lenalee muttered, "...Bye..." she said reluctantly, and the signal went quiet.

Allen tossed the ear piece back to Cross and turned his attention back to his game of solitaire on which he couldn't concentrate. The friends he'd become so close to were far away and Allen couldn't deny that he missed them dearly. As he picked up another card he sighed deeply and shook his head in an attempt to shake away his thoughts. He tried to focus on his game and he glared down at the card as though it was its fault that he couldn't concentrate.

Timcanpy flew up with another card between his two small hands and held it up in front of Allen's eyes. "I get it, I get it," the boy smiled, "Put that one over there, then," he told the golem.


End file.
